Retribution
by TV Manic 2
Summary: Doom seeks revenge on the Fantastic Four for defeating him twice. Are the foursome ready for such a personal attack? Johnnycentric :D Continuation of Oneshot 'Lights Out'
1. Times Square

**Fantastic Four (Movieverse) – Retribution**

**Summary:** Doom seeks revenge on the Fantastic Four for defeating him twice. Are the foursome ready for such a personal attack? Johnnycentric :D

**Disclaimer: **Nope, no ownership here

**Authors Notes: **Okay, so I wrote a oneshot, but due to the cliff-hanger that was left I have decided to continue it in a longer multi-chapter fanfic...The story now starts from the beginning, hope you like :D

My Britishness still applies and so any American terminology, places, names etc are taken from my extensive TV viewing and Google. Plus, my knowledge of the Fan4 in purely from the movies and a few episodes of the 2006 cartoon, so sorry for any mistakes

Thanks very much to lil_kanny, ktty, and Amber for reviewing my oneshot! Hope you like this as well!

Enjoy!!!

* * *

**Chapter One: Times Square **

**Times Square, Manhattan**

"That is just disgusting!" cried out Johnny as another wave of muddy gloop came dangerously close to hitting him. The one villain he actually dreaded fighting was the Moleman; and today the underground hermit had come out full force. His plan? Well, to make the surface world just as dark and stinky as his lair. "Do we have a plan?!"

His sister Sue shrugged nonchalantly as she held back the mud easily with her force field. Her husband Reed had stretched himself to a tall height to avoid it, although his boots were no longer black...more like dog mess brown. Johnny couldn't help but grin when he saw that Ben couldn't evade the mud like the rest of the team and his orange rocky skin was now stained with smelly brown mud. Ben managed to turn to the rest of the team, despite being waist deep in sludge. "I'd like a plan please. One that involves a shower!"

"I'm working on it okay!" Reed called back, cringing as the mud rose higher around his legs. Using his height to his advantage he surveyed the scene. Where was the mud coming from?

They were in the middle of Times Square; a thankfully deserted Times Square. Huge skyscrapers towered on either side with their bright neon signs advertising cars and celebrities. The cars that had packed the streets before the Moleman's attack piled up as the swirling cascade of mud ran the length of the street. A huge bus was poking out of the mud to the teams left and was moving with the current. _Current? _

Reed trampled his way upstream, skilfully avoiding the piled up traffic. Johnny followed, his body alight with his flames. "What's up brainiac?"

"Johnny, follow the current, see if you can find a source..."

* * *

**Lennox Hill Hospital, New York**

**Two Weeks Ago**

"Where's the blood sample being kept? We need to identify the source of this thing," asked Dr. Maiden of a young intern. The intern shrugged unhelpfully. "You're gonna make a great doctor one day." Maiden replied sarcastically.

The hospital was alive with the average activity, although to an outsider it might appear hectic. The ER was jam packed with everything from cut fingers to major head wounds. The nurses on duty scarpered around in their scrubs, assisting patients and signing out the healthy. Doctors and Surgeons in their flowing white lab coats ran around heroically while helpless interns flailed among the chaos.

"Kayla!" cried a nurse from behind the station when she saw Dr. Maiden. "You're looking for that sample right? Taken from the DOA in the morgue? They labelled it potentially lethal; it's in the fridge downstairs."

"Thanks," nodded Kayla as she turned and headed for the elevators. She was a young woman in her late twenties with long raven black hair she tamed into a ponytail. Her eyes were a cold a piercing blue. She wore her lab coat with pride as she swaggered down the halls and waited patiently for the elevator. She had a nice figure, thin, but not a stick, and creamy pale skin.

The fridge the nurse had spoken of was the 'Dangerous Substances Store'. Any chemicals, disease samples or unidentified particles were all stored in there at -5 degrees Celsius. Kayla swiped her ID card and typed in the pass code to gain access to the fridge. The door whooshed open with cold air blasting outwards. She stepped inside and wrapped her lab coat tighter around her shoulders. "It's bloody freezing in here," she muttered to herself. She then rolled her eyes. "Of course it is...it's a freezer."

Inside the room it was entirely white with shelves of jars and vials lining the walls. There were a few display cases where a couple of the substances had to be kept warm rather than cool, and an AC monitor was near the door. The read out confirmed the room's temperature was being maintained at -10.

The room itself was tiny. Dr. Maiden made her way down a corridor of shelves, trying to track down the sample she needed to take for testing. She was only a surgeon, and therefore not involved in the aftercare of a patient, even a dead one, but this case had piqued her curiosity. She knew she should just let the researchers look at it, but she couldn't let it lie.

Suddenly a loud click sounded from the direction of the door. It sounded suspiciously like a lock slamming into place. Dr. Maiden rushed out from her place and up to the windowless door. She tugged on the handle, but it wouldn't move. It wasn't designed to be unlocked from the inside.

She was trapped.

* * *

**Times Square, Manhattan**

Johnny flew ahead of the team that had been held back by the muddy wave. Below him all he could see was brown sludge and his nose was being offended by a less than pleasant smell. Following the river upstream he eventually came across the source_. A mud volcano? In Manhattan? Stranger things have happened. _Johnny shrugged.

He engaged his communicator and after a short click was greeted with a blast of static. "Reed, it's a mud volcano, about half a mile up from your position. What should I do?"

"_Hold tight, we're coming to you," _came Reed's reply.

"_That means don't do anything," _interrupted Ben's gruff voice. Johnny rolled his eyes even though Ben couldn't see him. He turned off the communicator and hovered directly above the cone of the volcano. It was continuing to spurt the thick sludge, but Johnny would do as he was told.

For all of 30 seconds.

Johnny began to circle the top of the cone, looking for a way to block it. That was the best thing to do right? Just stick something in the top and stop it spewing mud everywhere. Decided on his course of action, Johnny found his blocking device. One of the huge TV screens that were attached to the side of the buildings. He found one that was near enough to the volcano, and calculated its trajectory when it fell. See? He thought things through before he did them.

He lined himself up with the supports of the TV and let loose a stream of fire, melting the metal supports. The TV instantly toppled, following the trajectory Johnny had predicted. With a satisfying squelch it landed directly in the opening of the mud volcano.

Instantly the river of mud stopped flowing, slowing to a standstill. Johnny observed his handiwork with a cocky grin plastered on his face.

"Johnny?" asked Reed as his stretched tall form appeared nearby, a horrified expression on his face. "What did you do?"

An ominous rumble reverberated from the blocked volcano.

* * *

**Lennox Hill Hospital, New York**

**Two Weeks Ago**

Panic began to take hold of Kayla Maiden as she pounded uselessly on the door of the fridge. She immediately regretted following her curiosity. If she hadn't have _had_ to investigate the blood sample she wouldn't have been in the freezer, and she wouldn't be trapped.

"Damnnit!" she screamed as she kicked at the non-moving door. "Ow!" she gripped her now aching toe and hopped on the other foot. It would have been quite comical if it weren't for her current situation. She pulled out her pager, but it had taken the opportunity to stop working. Cell phones weren't allowed, so she couldn't call for help. And wasn't it getting colder?

"No," Kayla whispered. She watched the numbers on the AC readout gradually drop. -12, -13, -14, -15... She grabbed hold of the box, desperately jabbing at the buttons to stop the falling temperature, but nothing was working. "No, no, no, no!"

Kayla stumbled back from the door, fear filling her as she felt her body become hypothermic. She started shivering in an attempt to warm herself up. She gasped for air as she struggled to breath. She took a few shaky steps backwards, the ominous red numbers still counting down -16, -17, -18, -19, -20...

Then she fell into the Adynamic phase. God, she was diagnosing herself. Her rapid breathing slowed significantly as she felt her chest become depressed from the pressure of the cold. Her muscles refused to work with her as she tripped over her own feet. As she fell backwards she knocked several jars off the shelf nearest her. They smashed around her, splashing her with poisonous liquids.

She lay there, blinking wearily and unable to move as she watched the numbers. -21, -22, -23...

* * *

**Times Square, Manhattan**

The rumble of the volcano became louder as the Fantastic Four gathered around it. Sue had created a force field just above the now stationary river of mud for her, Ben and Reed to stand on. Johnny hovered nearby them, shrugging innocently. "It fell."

Reed, Sue and Ben all threw Johnny the same 'yeah right' expression. Johnny actually winced, something that he internally scolded himself for. Reed observed the volcano, noting its physical appearance and deep rumblings. "It's man made," he murmured to himself. "The blockage is causing the pressure to rise. It's gonna blow!"

As if on cue, the rumblings stopped. Then all hell broke loose.

A fountain of the muddy goo exploded upwards like an oil rig that just struck gold. Sue instinctively created another force field, encasing her Reed and Ben in a bubble as the mud flowed over them. Johnny wasn't so lucky. He didn't have enough altitude to avoid the mud and was covered with the foul-smelling liquid. It smothered out his flames and he fell the twenty feet back down to earth...and into the river.

He choked on the mud as it filled his mouth and he struggled to get himself out of the mess. He ended up sitting on top of a nearby car, looking like the creature from the black lagoon. Ben gave him a satisfied smile from his nice safe place, looking smug despite his also muddy appearance. "What you looking at Rocky?"

"Oh...nothing," Ben couldn't keep the laughter out of his voice. Johnny had been so careful to avoid the slime, and now, well...he hadn't been successful.

The fountain finally stopped and the flow slowed to a steady trickle rolling over the edges of the volcano's cone. Sue let her second bubble-like force field drop as the threat calmed slightly. Reed turned to his wife. "It's man-made, by a machine. That's most definitely not natural. The Moleman has made a mud volcano...it's fascinating really..."

"Get to the point Reed," interrupted Ben, not unkindly.

"Right, yes. Sue, can you go down there in a force field? See if you can't find the machine and shut it off?" instructed Reed. The Invisible Woman nodded in reply. The two men that stood on her force field floor were dropped into the river, making them cry out in shock as Sue surrounded herself in a bubble and disappeared down into the volcano's depths.

Johnny laughed from his perch on the car as Ben and Reed had to swim through the sludge and climb onto their own abandoned transport.

* * *

**Lennox Hill Hospital, New York**

**One Week Ago**

"Shit! We're gonna lose him!" cried Dr Maiden as she desperately tried to stop the bleeding. The patient on her table was a male in his early twenties who had had a motorbike accident. He had received extreme blunt force trauma to the chest and abdomen, and that was ignoring the broken leg and severe head wound.

He had fallen under her knife, and she had instantly opened him up to source and stop the bleeding. But he was haemorrhaging too badly. Once she managed to stop one bleed she'd find two or more hidden in his chest cavity. He had a punctured lung and she was pretty sure he had a ruptured spleen. Everything was against her and the man on her table.

"BP is dropping," informed one of the nurses that filled the room. A blinding light shone above Kayla to try and reveal her patients injuries. But they were too extensive and too many. She couldn't find them all.

Dr. Maiden was a fully trained surgeon who specialised in trauma care. She knew from experience that the man that lay before her was already a lost cause. She had known the second the EMT's had brought him in. Usually she would make the attempt, but distance herself from the patient so that she was less affected, but something had changed since that day in the fridge.

She had no idea how much. The pressure and the emotions that filled the room around her were taking their toll. She felt a coldness rise up inside her. She ignored it though, she had to focus on the patient...she had to save him. But it was so cold. She shivered.

Instantly new bleeds appeared. Her usually steady hands had shaken; her scalpel had nicked a major artery. She had to focus. Stop the bleed. Stop all the bleeding. But it was so damn cold! She looked up at her assisting surgeon, another young man, not long finished his internship. "You gotta finish for me. I'm causing more damage than I'm fixing."

The young surgeon nodded confidently and took the scalpel off her, but his eyes betrayed him. He had no idea how to save the young man. But he would try, and that was the best anyone could hope for now. Dr. Maiden backed away from the table in her bloodied scrubs and left the chaos of the OR behind her.

As she left she heard the bone-chilling beep of the heart monitor flat lining. The OR erupted with shouts and calls as they began the mandatory yet essentially useless resuscitation. Dr. Maiden, a successful trauma surgeon who had never before cracked under pressure, walked away shivering from a cold only she could feel.

* * *

**Underneath Times Square, Manhattan**

Susan Storm delved deep into the volcano's core, surprised by how cool it was. The rock around her was jagged and rough, but it seemed almost surgical in style with its straight edges. Reed was right, the volcano was made by a machine; nature never produced such prominent outlines.

The deeper she got the wider the chasm became. She pushed against the thick sludge that was on its way up and out into the surface world. When finally she came to a bottom she found a cave like lair full of small slug like creatures. She released the force field that surrounded her as soon as she was close enough to touch the floor and out of the path of the mud.

"Nice decor, very underworld," she muttered to herself. Quickly she located the computer console that was controlling the mud volcano making machine. It was relatively simple to operate. In fact, it was child's play. There was a bright green 'on' button, and a red 'off' button. It didn't take a genius to figure out that she just pressed the big red button.

"Okay, world domination for numpties, green = go, red = stop." Sue joked as she easily stopped the machine by pressing the red button. Instantly the mud volcano stopped and Sue breathed a sigh of relief. She felt sorry for the people who would have to clean up the sludge though.

"What do you think you are doing?" came an angered shout from behind. Sue spun around surprised, instinctively turning invisible. She scolded herself for not realising that the bad guy would be down there. Before her invisible form stood a very short round man with large eyes accustomed to the dark. Moleman.

* * *

**Lennox Hill Hospital, New York**

**Six Days Ago**

The Chief Residents office was large and ornate, with heavy oak furniture and velvet lined chairs. The Chief Resident himself on the other hand was actually rather small. He sat slumped in his chair, his wire-frame reading spectacles perched on the end of his nose. He was balding and wrinkled. He smirked up at Dr. Maiden as she entered with quiet steps. "Take a seat Miss Maiden."

Kayla stiffened at the title, _miss? Oh God no. _She took the seat opposite him, feeling very tiny in his presence despite his size. Her future literally rested in his hands. "Dr. Leonard, I can explain..."

"There is no need to explain, the report done by the junior surgeon is by far detailed enough. You froze in the middle of vital surgery and now a patient is dead." Kayla decided not to point out the irony of the word 'froze'. He had no idea what had happened to her, and explaining would probably get her kicked out even faster. "The family is filing a malpractice suit. I will not have your incompetence threaten the integrity of this hospital."

He allowed his sentence to sink in. Kayla was dumbfounded. She had expected to be suspended, maybe have a temporary licence revoke, but he was going to fire her. "But...but sir, I have been an asset to this hospital, surely you can reconsider..."

"I am well aware of your past achievements Miss Maiden, but ever since that break in protocol a week ago you have managed to undermine your own reputation. You are very lucky to be alive and yet you continue to perform poorly," Dr. Leonard peered over his glasses at Kayla, and in a quieter voice continued. "Your efforts have been much appreciated Kayla, I'm not denying that. You are an excellent surgeon, and I will recommend your skills. But you have suffered an extreme trauma and its affecting your work. I cannot risk it. I'm sorry. Have your desk cleared by the end of the day."

Kayla honestly felt her heart break at that very moment. She was dedicated to her work; she had no life, family, friends, anything outside of the hospital. Her apartment was empty and lonely. Dr. Leonard had just taken her life away, and he didn't seem to realise. She stood and left the office, the coldness rising inside of her as she walked away.

* * *

**Underneath Times Square, Manhattan**

The small man threw an armful of sludge at the place he had last seen the Invisible Woman. It hit her directly, making her visible. Susan Storm did not appear happy to be covered in slime. She lashed out quickly with a force field that caught the Moleman unawares and flung him deep into his cavern.

In response to the attack, the mass of slug-like creatures turned on Sue, surrounding her with toothless mouths wide open and gaping. It made her feel slightly queasy as they approached her on all sides. She held them back with a force field, but they ended up climbing up it, their gooey underbellies sticking to it. The increase in weight was putting a strain on her, and Sue engaged her communicator. "Help now please! Mass amounts of slugs squishing me! Yuck!"

Seconds later the cavern was lit by the Human Torch. The fire blinded the creatures, making some of them back away. Others were put off by the heat. But most just continued anyway. "Sue! Are you okay?"

"Just get them off me!" she cried. She buckled under the weight of holding up her shield, but kept it going, blood beginning to dribble from her nose. Johnny increased the heat of his flames and circled around Sue's force field, leaving a trail of flames that made the slugs issue almost human screams. Instantly they fell from the shield and scampered away. Relieved, Sue let down her shield and smiled up at her brother. "Thanks...LOOK OUT!"

"Woah!" Johnny swerved the ton of muck just in time. The slugs had returned, this time armed with old-fashioned catapults loaded with mud. As they fired ball after ball of gross substances at them, Johnny flew evasively. Diving in close to try and take out the weapons and then soaring backwards to avoid another hunk of sludge. "This is not fun!"

Sue meanwhile was repelling the onslaught with shield after shield, but it had been a long day and each force field she made was weaker than the last. Suddenly a much larger piece of mud struck her force field with enough force to send her flying backwards. She collided hard with the wall of the cave and fell in a crumpled heap on the ground.

"Sue! Sue!" shouted Johnny. She didn't react to his voice, and he instantly feared the worse. With a renewed burst of anger, flame and speed, Johnny filled the cavern with a fire just shy of supernova. He was careful to avoid his sister, but cared very little for the screaming slugs.

Finally the exhaustion of keeping up the heat made him fall to the ground. His body ached from the exertion, but it had worked. The cavern was now empty apart from him and his sister. Sue had sat up and was blinking at him wearily. He dragged himself to his feet, letting his relief show on his face. "Sue, you're okay...for a second there..."

"No, no, I'm fine," Sue reassured him as he came over and crouched next to her. Blood trickled from a small cut just above her right eyebrow, which Johnny instantly checked. Satisfied she didn't have a major concussion, he helped his sister to her feet. "Oww!"

"What is it?" Johnny asked quickly. Sue held her arm against her stomach and rubbed a tender spot.

"I think I sprained my wrist," Sue looked up at Johnny with a smile on her face. "Nothing serious. Let's go home eh?"

* * *

**Hospital for Special Surgery, New York**

**Five Days Earlier**

"I'm afraid we can't employ you here Dr. Maiden," the elderly woman replied matter of factly. "There is simply no position available to suit your many talents."

"I'll take anything, nurse, receptionist, anything," retorted Kayla, a note of desperation in her voice. This was the third hospital she had tried that day. It was the same ornate large office, same elderly person behind the desk, and the same answer every time.

"I'm sorry, but we cannot employ you," the chief resident smiled smugly. "Why don't you try St. Lukes?"

_I have,_ thought Kayla to herself. Instead she just nodded dejectedly. "Thank you for your time."

**King John's Apartment Complex, New York**

**Three Days Earlier**

It was useless. Everywhere she went she got the same answer. Kayla threw herself on to her bed and stared up at the ceiling. What the hell was she gonna do?

Helplessness and misery dissolved into anger. Who was she angry at? She didn't care. But she liked the relief she got from the burning hatred that boiled inside of her. Wait...it wasn't hot, it was...cold. Her entire body shivered as she felt her insides freeze and crystallise. It was something she knew should hurt, but for some reason it felt right. Scary, but right.

She closed her eyes and lost herself in the cold. She could feel every heat source around her. The cup of coffee on her bedside table burned her. The electricity in the copper wires in the walls. The body heat of the neighbours. She could locate them; she knew, without seeing, where all these things were. It was amazing.

She let out a cleansing breath that she didn't know she had been holding and opened her eyes. The room felt blissfully cool. It wasn't until she sat up and looked around that she realised why. The bed she lay on was encased in layer of ice. Surprised, Kayla slipped of the edge and stared around her. Somehow she knew that she had done it. She had frozen the bed. She...she...could make ice? Impossible. No, beyond impossible. The medical implications of such a thing, well, it was just...impossible.

And yet it had happened.

A smile played across her lips as she realised the truth. She was in awe of her own power, and yet it also scared her slightly. She knew that was a good thing. Being scared of her power meant that she wouldn't abuse it. She held onto that fear as she admired the bed again. She could kill someone with this power. She knew that. She saved lives; that was her job. She would not let it control her.

But what would she do? Well, first she had to control it. She had to learn the true extent of what she could do. And then she would need someone who understood. As if fate was guiding her she switched on her television. The Fantastic Four.

* * *

Okay, that was it, the opening tadaa!

I hope you like, and I hope you like enough to review :D

I will be updating soon, I'm on study leave so I have way too much free time on my hands!


	2. Burn Up

**Fantastic Four (Movieverse) – Retribution**

**Summary:** Doom seeks revenge on the Fantastic Four for defeating him twice. Are the foursome ready for such a personal attack? Johnnycentric :D

**Disclaimer: **Nope, no ownership here

**Authors Notes: **Second chapter :D

Thanks to kitty for reviewing, yep, Lights Out is the next chapter and then we find out what happened to Johnny...until then I leave you in suspense mwahahaha

Oh, and sorry this took so long...my mum hijacked my laptop and held it hostage until I completed a substantial amount of revision for my exam... :(

* * *

**Chapter Two: Burn Up **

**The Baxter Building**

"Yes, it's sprain," concluded Reed as he took yet another look at the x-ray in his right hand. He smiled down at his wife who just rolled her eyes.

"I told you that, but no, you had to be all fussy," she retorted with mock annoyance as she tugged at the cast he had wrapped round her wrist. Susan loved how Reed cared for her. That's part of why she married him. He could get so caught up in his work that he'd forget she existed; but moments like this reminded her of his caring side.

"I just wanted to make sure, you know I only want for you to be taken care of," Reed gave her a caring smile and slid the x-ray back into the folder. He continued absent-mindedly. "It's a good thing it wasn't a break; my medical skills don't really stretch beyond basic first aid."

"Relax," Susan wrapped her arms around his shoulders and gazed into his eyes. "We're superheroes, what's the worst that can happen?"

* * *

"On your left! On your left! Oh damnnit Ben, shoot him for God's sake!" Johnny shouted as he jabbed at the controller. The TV screen was filled with the computer game the pair was playing. There was one loud tinny explosion through the speakers followed by the slow losing music. GAME OVER flashed in big letters across the screen. "Ah! Ben! I told you to shoot him."

Ben gestured with his specially created controller. "The thingamajig was in the way, and besides I was out of ammo."

Johnny sighed tiredly and slumped back against the sofa, allowing his controller to drop to the floor. "That is the first time I have ever lost that level. You're gonna ruin my online scores."

"Now Johnny, is it really the end of the world?" interrupted Alicia as she entered the room. She knew this part of the Baxter Building well enough not to need her stick, and she made her way carefully to perch on the end of the sofa.

"Nah, that was last month," joked Johnny, referring to Galactus trying to eat the world. He turned eagerly to Ben. "Want another game? How about this time it's one on one, me vs. you...The Human Torch Vs the Thing..."

"Fine, but I'm gonna kick your scrawny ass kid," agreed Ben as turned back to the screen, hunched over his controller in a battle ready position. Alicia just shook her head smiling as she listened to the teammates blowing each other up in cyberspace.

* * *

The Baxter Building was a lot taller in life than it appeared on TV. And a lot more impressive. Kayla pushed through the rotating doors and into the huge reception area. It truly was magnificent. Very upper class with its marble floors and stone pillars. It even had a doorman. She was a long way from her apartment complex now.

"Well hi there and welcome to the Baxter Building, can I help?" greeted the doorman. His name tag said 'Jimmy', and he had a warm smile and well presented uniform.

"I'd like to see the Fantastic Four?" asked Kayla. Jimmy grinned like he had heard that many times before. He probably had to turn away lots of fans every day. "I just need to talk to them about...about a problem I think they can help me with."

"Do you have an appointment?" Jimmy asked patiently, already knowing the answer. Kayla shook her head in reply. "Then I'm afraid you can't go up."

"Please, it's really important that I speak to them," Kayla almost begged. She could already feel the coldness just yearning for release. She had learnt a degree of control though and quickly repressed it. Jimmy was unmoving nevertheless. Sighing, Kayla earnestly apologised. "I'm sorry, but I need to speak to them."

"I told ya lass, you can't go up," Jimmy insisted. Kayla allowed the coldness an inch of release so that ice crystals formed around her hands and the temperature in the hall dropped a few degrees. Jimmy stared at her dumbstruck. "I guess you'd better go up then."

"Thank you," Kayla smiled. She closed her hands into fists, shutting off her icy ability. The hall returned to room temperature as she walked the distance to the elevators and waited for one. Jimmy watched her with a mixture of confusion, wariness and awe as she disappeared through the doors and whizzed up to the top floor.

When eventually she reached the top and stepped out into the Fantastic Fours' headquarters she couldn't help but look around in awe. She felt like a tourist in the larger than life facility. The holographic simulation of a receptionist, Roberta, told her to be seated and wait patiently.

* * *

When Susan Richards received the call from Roberta of a visitor, she rolled her eyes and sighed. She pasted on her usual 'meet and greet' the fans smile and entered the lounge like reception area. She hadn't expected to see such a professional looking women in her late twenties sitting nervously on one of the sofas. When the young woman spotted Sue, she immediately stood up and offered a hand. "Hello, I'm Dr. Kayla Maiden, thank you for seeing me Mrs. Richards."

"Not a problem," Sue replied with a genuine smile. She took the offered hand and jumped a bit at the coldness of the touch. "Woah, sorry. You got very cold hands there."

"So, I've been told," Kayla murmured with a hint of bitterness. It was quickly replaced with nervousness.

Sue rubbed her hands together to try and warm them back up. "So, how can I help you?"

"Actually, I think it's I who can help you," Kayla said slyly. She gestured to Sue's cast arm. "Sprain or break?"

"Sprain, why?"

"It's just its been seriously wrapped up there, looks a bit tight for a sprain. I'm assuming Dr. Richards is in charge of medical issues here?" Susan nodded in reply. A friendly smirk lit up Kayla's face. "Is he a bit cautious by any chance?"

"You could say that," Susan said rubbing her slightly sore wrist. "So you're a medical doctor rather than a scientist then?"

"I'm a surgeon," Kayla explained. She continued rather anxiously. "I am actually here to ask about employment, if at all possible."

Susan raised her eyebrows in surprise. She definitely hadn't been expecting that one. No one had ever approached the Fantastic Four for a job before; they were a team of superheroes, the only staff they employed was Reed's lab assistants, and they weren't directly linked to the team at all. "What makes you think we should employ you?" asked Sue, not accusatorily but more casual. She had no idea how to interview a person for a job.

"Well, you're line of work is extremely dangerous, and I know that you are very powerful superheroes, but you still get hurt," Kayla began. She again gestured to Sue's injured arm. "I now know that Dr. Richards isn't a medical professional and if, God forbid, greater harm was to come of a member of your family they would have to go to a hospital where their lack of knowledge of your anatomies could result in fatal errors. As such, you need a trained doctor on your staff, such as myself, to avoid such complications."

"That was a great pitch," Sue said simply when Kayla came to a finish. The doctor allowed herself a quick moment of pride at managing to get it all out without getting tongue-tied. "What qualifications do you have?"

"I trained at Med school, graduating with honours, did my internship at Lennox Hill. I have had experience in the ER and the OR and I specialised in trauma surgery. I have also done double the required hours of paramedic work," listed Kayla. She had worked very hard to get where she was, that was apparent to Sue, but it also made her suspicious.

"Why are you now asking for employment? How does this benefit you?" questioned Susan.

A panicked expression flashed across Kayla's face. She wrung her hands in an unconscious sign of her inner conflict. "There was an incident at my hospital." Immediately Susan tensed, curious to hear the young woman's story. "I was trapped in the 'Dangerous Substances Store'. It's basically a walk-in fridge full of every chemical known to man. I fell into hypothermic shock and wasn't found for over two hours. I should have been dead, but something really weird happened."

Instantly the temperature in the room dropped. Susan glanced around surprised until she realised that the woman in front of her was responsible for the sudden climate change. "I can see your problem." She muttered. Kayla shrugged apologetically and the temperature went back to normal.

"The hospital didn't appreciate having a freak on their staff and I haven't been able to find anywhere else. In all honesty; you are my last hope." Kayla said simply. _Talk about pressure,_ Sue thought to herself.

"I guess you should meet the team then."

* * *

As Johnny beat Ben _again_ he shivered violently.

"Woah, you okay there kid?" asked Ben, concern barely masked by his rough voice. Johnny blinked in surprise; he hadn't felt cold since they went into space. It was really weird. He shook it off and gave Ben one of his prize cocky smiles.

"I'm awesome," he replied egotistically. Ben just clapped him on the shoulder with a rocky hand and picked up his controller in preparation for another round of the game. But then Johnny shivered again. This time, the cause came strolling through the door behind Susan. Johnny instantly knew the raven-haired beauty was the cause of his sudden cold sensation. The coolness radiated from her in a way he guessed only he could sense. The two shared a look that communicated that they were both having similar reactions.

Susan introduced the woman, unaware of the moment her brother and the doctor were sharing. "Guys, meet our new medic; Dr. Kayla Maiden."

Alicia, who was still sitting on the edge of the couch stood up and smiled warmly at the direction she could feel the cold coming from. Realising the woman was blind; Kayla took her hand and shook it instead of offering it. "Hello, welcome to the Baxter Building. My name's Alicia"

Ben shook her hand next, carefully taking it to avoid crushing her with his immense strength. Kayla was amazed at how gentle the giant was, and how expressive his facial features were despite his rocky exterior. "I'm Ben."

Next to greet her was Johnny. They didn't touch, each one sensing the extreme temperature of the other. Instead, Kayla gave a small wave and a quick smile; and received a wide grin in response. Susan noticed the exchange, but said nothing.

Suddenly the scene was interrupted by the fourth member of the team, Reed Richards, over the intercom. "_We've got an emergency call from the Fire Brigade. There's a burning apartment building on 36__th__ Street with tenants still trapped inside. Time to move out."_

"I guess I should let you guys go then," Kayla took a step back and out of the way so that the Fantastic Four could tackle their latest challenge.

* * *

**Doom Enterprises**

Doom smiled gleefully as the Fantastic Four geared up and zoomed out of the Baxter Building in their shiny Fantasticar. He played with them like mice in a maze as they unknowingly followed his carefully laid out plan. He knew them well enough to predict their actions; and the result of them. They would play along and follow his trail of breadcrumbs.

He glanced at another screen which showed his handiwork. Of course he hadn't personally set the building on fire, but he marvelled at Leonard's prowess as a pyromaniac. Soon the Fantastic Four would show up and save the day, and his plan would progress.

_That's right my playthings, run along...like lambs to the slaughter..._

* * *

**Merlin's Apartment Building**

**36****th**** Street**

When the fantasticar hovered to a stop on the street outside the burning building the awesome foursome gasped in surprise. There was no longer a building that could be seen, only a towering inferno of flames. No wonder the fire brigade had called for back-up. There was no way they could get to the people trapped inside. A crowd had gathered; some of the onlookers were hysterical, others were staring at the flames in awe.

The four climbed out of the fantasticar, all turning to Reed to come up with a masterful plan. The brainiac gazed at the building, calculating the progression of the flames, the strength of the old rotting structure and the chances of survival. They were quickly joined by a suited up fireman, his face sooty under his helmet. Reed extended a hand. "We're here to help."

The fireman sighed, relief and surrender exhaled simultaneously. "I can't send my men in anymore, it's too dangerous. We've got a mother out here who claims her kids are still trapped on the fourth floor, the farthest back apartment. There's also reports of an old guy that refuses to leave his flat in the basement." The tired fireman took on a sad tone. "One of my guys is in there too. Young lad, only just passed his training. We think he made it to the third floor before part of the building collapsed. We haven't heard anything since."

"Okay, thanks, we'll take care of it the best we can," Reed reassured the man before turning back to his team. "We're gonna have to support the building before we do anything. Ben, you stay on the ground floor, it's too dangerous for you to go any higher. See if you can't convince the old man to come out. Sue, do whatever you can to keep that building up. Johnny and I..."

A scream echoed eerily across the street. It was a young girl by the sounds of it. And she was in major trouble. The onlookers on the street stared at the Fantastic Four expectantly.

Immediately Johnny flamed on and took to the air. He heard his teammates shout at him but decisively ignored them. The kid didn't sound like she'd survive long enough for Reed to come up with a complete plan, and Johnny wasn't gonna wait around.

The building was four stories high, so the fastest way to get to the fourth floor, and to the trapped kids, was from the top down. It made logical sense. Johnny came to a stop a few inches above the roof of the building and flamed off, landing lightly on his feet. The flames were high and surrounded him, but the intense heat didn't bother him. He found a gaping hole in the roof and skilfully climbed down into the building. Inside was black, orange and smoky. Johnny may not have been affected by the heat, but he wasn't immune to smoke inhalation.

Sue watched her brother fly off half-cocked and cursed loudly. She glanced at Reed who was already trying to recalculate his plan. "Right, Ben, same plan okay – go find the old man, keep the building up. Do not go after Johnny. That's Sue's job." He turned to his wife as Ben's lumbering mass thundered off and disappeared inside the building. "Think you can get yourself up to the top and follow Johnny in? Help him get the kids. We'll yell at him later."

"I'll hold you to that," Sue said simply as she created the force field beneath her feet and took to the air.

"And I'll find the fireman on the third floor," Reed muttered to himself. He ran up to the side of the building and extended his height so that he was level with a third floor window. He gripped the blackened ledge and pulled himself up. The glass had been blown out of the windows earlier so Reed just climbed through, entering the hellishly hot fireball.

* * *

**The Baxter Building**

The two women left behind sat side by side on the sofa. Dr. Kayla Maiden watched the TV screen intently, giving Alicia the details she couldn't see. The view was from a helicopter and a female voice over was giving a running commentary. Kayla watched Johnny fly off from the group and disappear into the flames on the roof. "What's he doing?"

"What's who doing?" asked Alicia, a hint of frustration in her voice. It was moments like this when she cursed her disability. She felt so helpless and worthless, despite the constant reassurance the people around her tried to give her.

"Johnny just flew off and into the building. I don't think he was meant to though, Susan looks pissed," explained Kayla.

"What about Ben? Is he okay?"

"Yeah, he's still outside. No wait, he just ran in. He's on the bottom floor; he's probably gone to support the building or something. It looks like it's about to collapse," Kayla described, feeling the woman tense beside her. The lovable monster had become her whole world and she worried whenever he went off to do his hero thing. "Sue just went up to the roof; I think she's going after Johnny. And Reed just climbed up to the third floor. They're all in now."

"I hate waiting, I hate sitting here while they go and risk their lives," Alicia complained. "I just feel so..."

"...useless?" finished Kayla. She continued staring at the screen waiting for the superheroes to emerge with their rescued tenants. She felt the coldness inside her swell expectantly, and she knew she could've helped. But then again, considering how being around Johnny made her feel, maybe a burning building wasn't the best place to be.

_Johnny. _Out of all the Fantastic Four, Kayla felt the most concerned about his safety. He seemed to be the most...vulnerable? Ben was pretty much indestructible, Reed just bounced back, Susan had her force fields, but Johnny...Okay, so he could burst into a ball of fire, but that didn't mean he couldn't get hurt.

Kayla watched the screen with even more intensity, if that was even possible.

* * *

**Merlin's Apartment Building**

**36****th**** Street**

Ben ran through the building, trying to be light on his feet but failing. Every step he took made the building shudder ominously. He heard loud coughing coming from below him. The old man was _still_ in the basement. Ben found a door and yanked it open, accidently ripping it from its hinges, and found a set of concrete steps leading down into a smoke filled cellar.

The deeper he climbed into the basement, the less he could see. The harsh, thick smoke made his eyes water and his chest tighten. Ben followed the sound of the ragged coughing, and almost stepped onto the old man who lay on the floor. With his strong hands he heaved the pensioner over his shoulder in a makeshift fireman's carry and climbed the stairs back out of the building.

He dropped the man into the arms of a waiting fireman who carried him over to an ambulance. Once he saw that the man appeared to be okay, Ben turned around and ran straight back into the building; finding a central support and holding it up to give the rest of his team more time.

* * *

Reed, meanwhile, carefully slinked along the third floor. He would've called for the young fireman, but realised he didn't know his name. His chest was getting tighter and tighter as he was forced to breath in the smoke, but that wasn't his biggest problem. Reed was pretty much a big rubber band, and as such, the heat was making him droop as he practically melted. But he was still holding together, even if it was only just.

After a few minutes that seemed more like a few hours, Reed eventually found the fireman. The corridor ahead of him had collapsed, filled with debris from the fourth floor. The fireman was trapped under one of the supporting floor beams. His entire left side was crushed beneath the weight, but he was still alive. He blinked up at Reed blearily. "Hey m-man, you d-d-don't look so g-good..."

"And you look fantastic?" retorted Reed despite the situation. The fireman rewarded him with a small smile. And then he began coughing painfully. Reed kneeled next to him and started analysing the best way to free him. "What's your name?"

"R-R-Riley," replied the fireman. He winced as Reed tested to see if he could lift the beam. He couldn't. "Y-You're gonna g-g-get me out r-r-right?"

Reed smiled convincingly at Riley. "Of course. I'm just gonna find something to pry this beam off you with, and then we'll get the hell out of here."

Searching around, Reed found a metal pole that appeared to have once been part of an ironing board. How it had gotten into the hallway Reed dreaded to think, but it would do. Careful to avoid causing more injury to the young man, Reed rammed the pole under the beam and pushed down hard. The beam gave a tiny bit, just enough for Reed to pull Riley out with a stretched limb. When he let go of the pole the beam fell to the ground heavily. The building began to shake violently as pieces of debris fell around them. "Time to go then."

Reed lifted Riley onto his feet and slung an arm over his shoulders as they hurried back towards the window he had climbed through. As the building continued to cave in around them, Reed wrapped his arms around Riley and lowered him out of the window and onto the ground. Immediately a flock of fireman surrounded their downed brethren and carried him to a waiting ambulance.

With one last look over his shoulder at the death trap Reed lowered himself out of the building and onto the street, hoping that his wife had gotten out safely too.

* * *

Johnny headed deeper into the inferno, the flames growing more intense and the smoke getting thicker. He could hear the frightened screams of the kids more clearly the closer he got. Eventually he reached a door. Well, actually, the door had been completely disintegrated into a pile of ash; the path was blocked by a wall of flames. No problem for the Human Torch, but a bit painful for the kids if he was gonna have to bring them back this way.

So Johnny tested a theory. If he could engulf himself in flames, why couldn't he absorb the flames in? He placed a hand on either side of the blackened door frame and focused on absorbing rather than expelling the flames. In seconds the flames whipped away leaving a completely clear doorway.

"Kids?" called Johnny. He started coughing on the smoke as he delved deeper into the apartment.

"Mister!" came a hoarse reply. "Help us Mister! We're over here!"

"I'm coming," replied Johnny. He followed the direction the voice had come from and found a tiny kitchen diner. Two small children, one an eight-year-old girl, the other a five-year-old boy, were huddled under the table, both black with soot. "Hey, come on, it's time to go."

"Mister Torch?" asked the small boy. Johnny nodded and the boy's eyes filled with admiration. "My name's Billy, this is my sister Jenny."

"Well, hi there," Johnny greeted the pair with a reassuring smile. "Come on now, we're gonna get out now." The two children were coaxed out from under the table and immediately clung to their saviour. Johnny lifted Billy up and carried him while holding Jenny's hand as he led them back towards the now clear door.

Once in the hallway they headed towards the stairs. Suddenly the building rumbled and began to cave in around them, showering them in debris. Johnny tried to shield the children, just as the stairs gave out beneath them. Jenny screamed as they fell about 3 ft before abruptly stopping. They had landed on one of the Invisible Woman's force fields. "Sue!"

Sue appeared behind them, floating on another shield. She gave Johnny an 'I'm gonna shout at you later' look and then levitated them all up to the roof. Johnny guided the children onto Sue's force field and then took to the air in a ball of flames to reduce the strain in his sister.

All of a sudden the building collapsed as they continued to hover above it. The gathered crowd burst into applause as they saw that the children were safe and that everyone had been rescued. Reed looked up with relief to see his wife was safe just as Ben climbed out of the wreckage, brushing soot off his shoulder.

The flames continued to burn, but now the Fire Department could handle it. The Fantastic Four climbed back into the Fantasticar and returned to the Baxter Building.

* * *

**The Baxter Building**

**Reed's Lab**

Ben Grimm turned on Johnny the moment they entered the lab. Anger was etched on his stone face as he stared the Human Torch down. "What were you thinking kid? That was stupid!"

"I didn't mean to...I wasn't thinking..." Johnny tried to interrupt.

"Too right you weren't thinking," Sue joined in. She gave Johnny a patented 'annoyed sister glare'. "You could have gotten those kids killed if I hadn't of shown up when I did. We're damn lucky we managed to pull it off without casualties. There was a plan Johnny, and the plan would've worked. The building was weak, Ben was gonna hold up the supports, but you got in the way!"

"You're always in the way kid, you gotta cool it," Ben murmured coldly. Although Ben had only spoken, Johnny felt as if he had punched him in the gut. He knew he had made a mistake, but, well. There were no buts. They were right.

Reed stepped forward calmly. "Johnny, you have got to stop rushing in foolishly without listening to us. We can't help people if we can't work as a team. You're holding us back every time you do something like this."

Silenced by the truth of their words, Johnny left the lab feeling their disapproving eyes follow him.

* * *

I know I took forever to update, I'm sorry :S

But hey! I'm uploading chap 3 right now as it is basically my oneshot...I'll try and write chap 4 _really _quickly!!!

Please review!


	3. Lights Out

**Fantastic Four (Movieverse) – Retribution**

**Summary:** Doom seeks revenge on the Fantastic Four for defeating him twice. Are the foursome ready for such a personal attack? Johnnycentric :D

**Disclaimer: **Nope, no ownership here

**Authors Notes: **Okay, so this chapter, as you can probably guess from the name, is pretty much the oneshot 'Lights Out', but the beginning has been changed slightly and a few bits edited. You can re-read the lot if you like, or just read the beginning bit until you recognise it lol

Thanks to Arose42 and Penny3 for reveiwing the oneshot; I have changed Susan Storm to Susan Richards - thanks for pointing it out!

Enjoy! :D

* * *

**Chapter Three: Lights Out **

**Doom Enterprises**

The evil lair was just as evil as any evil lair should be. The office of the building consisted simply of a large round desk with a high-backed throne of a chair behind it. Lining the back wall was a series of computer screens, each one showing a different room of the Baxter Building. The metal man in the chair grinned wickedly behind his mask as he spied on the 'Fantastic' Four.

Victor Von Doom. Or Dr. Doom as he now preferred. He was a god now, far above the weaknesses of humanity, such as the ones he witnessed. The young hotshot, the Human Torch, had been scolded for his useless heroics. It was enough to warm Doom's cold metal heart as he watched the boy run away. Without any help from him the Four had already set the scene for his masterful scheme.

He located the blind girl; she would be the perfect damsel to divide his target from the rest of the team. Grinning, Doom flicked his remote changing the images that filled the screens to his own lair. He saw a huge hangar bay filled with row upon row of his specially designed craft, with even more of his specially designed robots filling them. Doombots he had called them.

He loved the smell of revenge in the morning.

**

* * *

**

**Reed's Lab**

The cavern of a laboratory was filled with every one of Reed's bright ideas. Even the less successful ones. An early version of the fantasticar which looked like an oversized bath was buried under a pile of other bits and pieces that Reed didn't have the heart to throw away. You never know when a giant-hairdryer-shaped-mousetrap was gonna come in useful.

Reed smirked to himself as he worked on yet another invention he wasn't sure if he would ever need. Suddenly he was interrupted by an obnoxiously loud beeping sound from a console a few feet away from him. He jumped, almost dropping what he was working on, and then stretched only his upper body to investigate.

The console was a radar that was far more high tech than most. It picked up on threats, even invisible ones, and worked as an early warning system. Reed gasped as he saw what the scanner had identified. Immediately he engaged the buildings intercom.

* * *

**The Garage**

Johnny disappeared beneath his beloved car to check a potential oil leak. The garage was his sanctuary from everything. Whenever he had a fight or something bad happened, he buried himself in the simplicity of his cars mechanics. Even if there was nothing wrong he'd check the car over, sometimes creating problems, just so that he could fix them.

Maybe that's why he always got in the way? He wondered as he tightened the oil line with a spanner. Did he have a hero complex; did he have to be the one who saved the day? Maybe that's why he had rushed in to that building; for his own glory. Johnny stopped working and lay down, staring at the cars undercarriage as if it would tell him all the answers.

He made a vow then and there. He wouldn't get in the way again. He'd only help if he was asked. That way he couldn't cause any trouble. But then again...wasn't that his role? The irresponsible one who rushed in where others feared to tread? He was a daredevil; act first, think later. Could he really change like the team needed him to?

"_We've got an emergency!" _Reeds tinny, distant voice over the intercom jolted Johnny out of his reverie. He rolled out from under his car, waiting for more details. _"We've got a lot of aircraft incoming with malevolent intent. All tenants are asked to leave for their own safety. I am ordering an evacuation. Fantastic Four, rendezvous on the roof, now."_

Johnny didn't wait around. He no longer wore his suit under his clothes due to his new wardrobe that Reed had made. His clothes were fireproof, although they probably wouldn't withstand a supernova. He ran out of the garage door and onto the pavement before shouting "Flame on!"

He reached the roof in about thirty seconds and landed lightly as his flames died. He stared in shock at the approaching craft. There were hundreds of them, a whole swarm of flying cargo holds. Unsure whether to make the first move, and not wanting another confrontation, Johnny waited for the closest ship to come to hover above the roof. He took two steps back as the huge doors on the side of the craft slid open and revealed rows of robots.

The first row made the ten foot jump from craft to roof with ease, their metallic bodies making loud thumps as they hit the concrete. Johnny took to the air, preparing to blast the invaders.

* * *

**The Roof of the Baxter Building**

It was chaos. There was no other way to describe what was happening. The battle raged around on top of the skyscraper, wind battering the Fantastic Four as well as the army of doombots they faced.

The Invisible Woman, Susan Richards, flickered in and out of visibility to keep the element of surprise as she lashed out with her force fields. She captured three of the shiny metal robots in a bubble of energy, lifted them over the edge of the roof and released them to fall the endless distance between them and the ground. Sue recognised the robots as being Dr. Dooms, her former fiancé, but had yet to see the metal man. A flash of flames brushed past her as her brother attacked a doombot who was about to hit her. She smiled at him and returned to the battle for their home.

Johnny flew around in circles above the roof, watching the scene from above, taking out doombots whenever he saw the opportunity. He had jumped into the fray as soon as the robots had appeared, followed quickly by the rest of his family. Ben Grimm, the Thing, who was just beneath Johnny, smashed two doombots together with his enormous strength and threw the pieces away in disgust.

In his usual disgruntled mood, Ben charged through the sea of doombots, flinging them aside with ease. Occasionally the robots fired their useless weapons at him, but they only tickled. He smirked as he ripped the robots to shreds. His near-invulnerability gave him the chance to survey the scene. Suzie held her own against a swarm of doombots, repelling them with her force fields. The kid flew around their heads, helping but not getting in the way. Ben regretted what he had said earlier, knowing that the kid was hurting a lot more than he let on. The brainiac, Reed, trapped the robots in his stretched limbs, crushing them before moving onto his next victims.

And then there was Alicia..._Alicia? _Ben panicked as he saw his vulnerable girlfriend stumble among the chaos. He had no idea how she had gotten onto the roof, or why she was there, but there she was...dangerously near the edge. He made two thundering steps towards her before the worse happened.

Circling overhead, Johnny spotted Alicia. She had come up onto the roof through the doors and her expression showed confusion. Johnny watched as Ben headed towards her. He saw the doombot before Ben did. He put on a burst of speed, but was too late.

"Alicia! Nooo!" shouted Ben in his gruff voice. The doombot shoved Alicia unceremoniously over the edge. Ben felt his stomach do a back flip as he witnessed his one true love fall to the depths.

"I got her Ben! Keep fighting!" yelled Johnny over his shoulder as he dived over the edge, his body engulfed in flames.

As the fireball disappeared along with Alicia, anger took over Ben Grimm. He tore through the doombot with his rocky hands, relishing the moment when the robot fell to pieces and tumbled to the floor.

* * *

The Human Torch propelled himself over the edge of the roof and soared downwards as fast he could. He saw Alicia falling helplessly only a few feet below him. Knowing if he caught her flamed on she would just burn, Johnny flew right past her. When he was a few floors below her, he flamed off and grabbed a window ledge.

Seconds later Alicia caught up with him and he caught one of her flailing arms. The sudden increase in weight almost made him lose his grip on the ledge, but he managed to hold on. Just. They dangled precariously about thirteen floors above the ground. Alicia looked up at him with unseeing eyes, placing her trust entirely in him.

"I got you, its okay," Johnny said reassuringly, already feeling his muscles ache from exertion. He hadn't completely thought through his plan and so he improvised. He pulled Alicia upwards so that she could climb up onto the ledge, sitting with her legs dangling over the edge. Straining slightly, Johnny dragged himself up as well. "Hey, I'm gonna smash this window, and then your gonna climb through, cover your face."

"How high up are we?" asked Alicia. She felt around her, and shuffled away from Johnny, allowing him space to smash the glass.

Johnny looked down, thankful that he wasn't afraid of heights, and then shrugged at Alicia, even though she couldn't see. In a careless tone so as not scare the woman he replied "not that high."

"Good, I'm not great with heights," Alicia murmured. Johnny momentarily wondered how a blind person could be afraid of heights before he took of his jacket and wrapped it around his hand. He broke the window pretty easily, and then cleared some of the glass out the way so Alicia wouldn't cut herself.

"There we go," Johnny found the room to be an empty apartment, and then guided Alicia through. He could hear the battle on the roof even from down there, and he itched to get back up and help. He activated his communicator. "Ben, Alicia's okay, I caught her. She's safe."

"_Thank God." _Ben's voice crackled over the earpiece. _"Thanks Kid, good job." _

The communication ended with a click, and Johnny allowed himself a moment of pride. He was still perched on the window ledge, and was just about to take off and return to the battle when a flash of familiar blue light just missed him. "Alicia! Get down and stay away from the windows!"

Johnny let himself drop of the ledge and fall a few feet before he yelled "Flame On!" Immediately the warm rush of flames covered him as he propelled himself up to meet Dr. Doom himself.

"Nice one hero," smirked Doom. Well, Johnny thought he was smirking, he couldn't tell with the metal mask blocking his expression. "Saving the blind girl from a horrific drop? Daddy would be proud."

A surge of rage filled Johnny as he let loose the fire from his hands. The meagre flames had little effect on Doom who instantly retaliated with a bolt of electricity. The hit threw Johnny backwards as pain throbbed through his shoulder. He retorted with an onslaught of flames which resulted in another shock. This one was stronger though. Johnny felt the jolting electricity course through his entire body, sending spasms of agony along his nerves. He dropped in altitude as he struggled to keep his flames around him. He couldn't muster another attack in time before Doom struck him again with enough force to send him plummeting to the ground.

Consciousness left him for all of five seconds. When he opened his eyes Doom stood over him, bearing down with his expressionless mask. Johnny tried to gather the strength to defend himself, but Doom just jolted him again. "Give it up Johnny." Doom sneered, a glint of glee in his eyes. "You're weak, useless, and you're always in the way. Holding the team back with your foolish attitude."

That hurt Johnny more than the electricity had.

* * *

_**Baxter Building, Reed's Lab**_

_**Earlier that Day**_

_The Fantastic Four returned less than victorious to their home. The mission had been to save the tenants of a burning apartment building, something Johnny was usually good at. He had gone in without listening to Reed, almost gotten himself killed, almost gotten some kids killed. _

_Ben Grimm turned on Johnny the moment they entered the lab. Anger was etched on his stone face as he stared the Human Torch down. "What were you thinking kid? That was stupid!"_

"_I didn't mean to- I wasn't thinking-" Johnny tried to interrupt._

"_Too right you weren't thinking," Sue joined in. She gave Johnny a patented 'annoyed sister glare'. "There was a plan Johnny, and the plan would've worked. The building was weak, Ben was gonna hold up the supports, but you got in the way!"_

"_You're always in the way kid, you gotta cool it," Ben murmured coldly. Although Ben had only spoken, Johnny felt as if he had punched him in the gut. He knew he had made a mistake, but, well. There were no buts. They were right. _

_Reed stepped forward calmly. "Johnny, you have got to stop rushing in foolishly without listening to us. We can't help people if we can't work as a team. You're holding us back every time you do something like this."_

_Silenced by the truth of their words, Johnny left the lab feeling their disapproving eyes follow him._

* * *

And now he stared into the eyes of his enemy who repeated what his family had said. For the first time in a long time, Johnny truly felt useless and weak. He felt broken. He lost the will to fight off Doom; almost wishing that he'd just end everyone's suffering by ending him.

Doom smiled behind his mask as he saw the fight leave the young man's eyes. Satisfaction filled him as his plan slid into place. First to break his spirit, then to just break him. He dragged the boy to his feet and pinned him against the wall, pressing an arm across his shoulders. There was little struggle between them now, Doom held all the power. With his free hand he reached into his cloak and pulled out a sharp silver blade.

Johnny saw Doom reveal the knife and tried to escape his grip. But he was so tired. His body was aching from the shocks and he felt so drained. There was nothing he could do as Doom plunged the blade deep into his abdomen, just below his ribs. For an instant there was no feeling, but then the knife was twisted and pain bloomed in his gut. Johnny let out the smallest groan before clamping his scream down. He was down, but he wouldn't give Doom the satisfaction.

A smile licked across Doom's lips, Johnny could see it in his eyes, as the blade was slowly slid out of the wound. Blood trickled from the hole, staining his shirt dark red. "It's a slow bleeder, don't worry. I want Susan to find you alive. I've got a message.

"One Down, Three to go."

* * *

**The Roof**

Susan Storm felt an instant of pain in her gut which made her drop her shield. Something wasn't right. She blinked around to investigate if she had been hit without her knowledge, but she appeared unharmed. She couldn't shake the ominous feeling that filled her though.

"Suzie! On your left!" shouted Ben. Instinctively, Sue created a force field and repelled the sneak attack. Five doombots were pushed off the roof.

But they just kept coming. Wave after wave kept appearing. Just when they thought they had made some progress, another swarm would emerge and cause havoc. Sue knew they wouldn't be able to hold them back forever. They needed something that would stop them, and stop them now.

Reed was thinking the same thing. The more he kept stretching to capture and crush the bots, the harder it was becoming to return to his normal shape. He felt like an over stretched elastic band; like that at any moment he would snap. He thought over all the inventions he had in his lab. What out of all of them would be useful? He had a portal to the negative zone, the storm chamber, and...and...

An EMP.

If he hadn't have been in the middle of a warzone he would have kicked himself. He had an Electromagnetic Pulse. It would fry all their circuits and probably blow every fuse in a ten block radius. Why hadn't he thought of it before? "Susan! Ben! I need to get down to the lab! Can you guys hold them?"

Ben smashed a couple of doombots to smithereens. "No problem."

Another wave of doombots filled the roof. More than had ever appeared before. Immediately the battle became harder. The three were surrounded by the mechanical monsters and outnumbered by about 100 to 3.

"Maybe a little problem." Ben conceded as he observed the new challenge. He dived fist first into the battle, refusing to admit he was beginning to tire. He was made of rock and stone and he would never stop until every one of these robots was scrap metal.

Susan made a huge wall out of a force field so that she and Reed were temporarily divided from the mass of metal. "What's the plan Reed?"

"In the lab, I've got an EMP, it will make them all useless," explained Reed quickly. It had taken a lot for him to not describe in acute detail the inner working of the pulse and its effect on the doombots, but time was of the essence. "There's too many bots for the two of you, I can't leave."

Susan smiled reassuringly and engaged her communicator. "Johnny? We need you."

"_What can I do?" _replied Johnny. He sounded quiet and distant to Sue, but she assumed it was just the connection. The feeling of not-rightness filled her for a moment, but she ignored it.

"In Reed's lab is an EMP, we need you to set it off and fry these dumb bots. Think you can do it?"

A second of silence came over the line. Reed, who had been over hearing interrupted, "I can guide you over the communicator. Just tell me when you're there and we'll finish this."

"_You got it. Give me five minutes." _Johnny sounded more confident this time which seemed to settle Susan's instincts. But she couldn't help but notice that her brother had asked for five minutes. It wouldn't usually take him five minutes to get to the top of the building...more like 30 seconds.

* * *

They needed him. He couldn't just lie slumped against the wall while they fought for their lives and their home without him. Johnny considered his task. He had to get up to the top floor of the building, into Reed's lab and set of an EMP. He pulled his hand away from his wound and watched the blood for a millisecond. Doom had said it was a slow bleeder. He could make it.

Gritting his teeth to stop him yelling out in pain he pushed himself into a standing position, using the wall for support. The world swayed for a second as the effects of blood loss made his vision blurry. He pushed his hand firmly over the wound to try and stop the bleeding and set off. He had given himself a deadline of five minutes; he had already lost a minute.

He found the side entrance to the Baxter Building and managed to open the door. He left a trail of bloody handprints over the handle and frame. He made his way through the ground floor of the building until he crossed into the entrance hall. The building was empty due to the emergency evacuation that Reed had ordered when the attack had begun. The elevator was only a few yards away, but already Johnny's feet felt like lead as he struggled to walk.

He could no longer distinguish between the burning pain of the knife wound and the aches of the shocks as they had melded into one white hot pain than filled his entire body. He stumbled to the elevator and jabbed the button. He waited with his back against the wall, desperately fighting the blissful darkness that beckoned.

Finally the doors dinged open and Johnny stumbled in. He found the button for the top floor, a difficult task when his vision consisted of blurred shapes and outlines. The doors closed behind him and he was whizzed up the building.

Only two minutes left.

* * *

On the roof the battle raged harder than ever. The three superheroes were beginning to tire and their counter attacks on the swarm were becoming weaker and less effective. It was not looking good for the Baxter Building.

The glass symbol on the roof was smashed under the doombots feet. The sound of the crunching pieces was like the sound of their team shattering. The three were backed up against the edge of the roof. It was the only space that wasn't occupied by the robots that surrounded them with weapons trained.

Susan desperately tried to hold them back with a force field, but the strain was taking its toll. Blood began to trickle from her nose as her hold over her powers slipped. Reed stood reassuringly behind his wife feeling helpless as she held back the swarm. "Where the hell is Johnny?" he cried in frustration.

Blinking tiredly, Sue looked up at her teammates. Her head hurt from holding up the shield and she could feel it draining her. "I'm s-sorry...I c-c-can't hold it..." The shield dropped as Sue collapsed against Reed in exhaustion. Every single robot took a step towards them, prepared to wipe them out.

But then stopped.

A whirring noise erupted from every one of them. Then they all slumped dejectedly. The lights of the surrounding buildings and streetlamps all flickered out of life. A final blip sounded over the Fantastic Four's communicators as they all switched off.

Susan smiled with pride for her little brother. She knew he had done it. He had saved them. A small amount of strength returned to her muscles and she managed to stand by herself. "I'm gonna go see Johnny."

"Okay, Ben, we gotta destroy these guys, everything will reset in about five minutes." Susan left the pair on the roof to smash through the remaining doombots as she climbed down the steps and into the Baxter Building.

* * *

Johnny smiled to himself. He wasn't as stupid as everyone thought. He had gained enough qualifications to become a pilot for NASA, so why everyone thought he was an idiot was beyond him. Besides, the EMP was pretty simple to operate; he didn't need Reed to guide him through it.

His celebration was short lived though when he remembered his injury. It had gotten decidedly worse since Doom had stabbed him. All his movement had forced him to bleed out faster than anticipated. Johnny stood up to leave the lab; part of him wanted to gloat to Sue that he had done something right, but he immediately collapsed to the floor.

He landed hard on his thankfully uninjured side. He tried to break his fall, but he had managed to hit his head anyway. The wooziness from the blood loss doubled as his vision lit up with brightly coloured dots and lines. He had a single moment of consciousness left. He could just make out a blonde woman rushing towards him, but her voice seemed so far away. The blessed shadows filled his vision as he fell into the depths of darkness.

Lights out.

* * *

We like? Finally next chapter you can find out what happens to Johnny...until then you'll have to wait :D


	4. Blood Message

**Fantastic Four (Movieverse) – Retribution**

**Summary:** Doom seeks revenge on the Fantastic Four for defeating him twice. Are the foursome ready for such a personal attack? Johnnycentric :D

**Disclaimer: **Nope, no ownership here

**Authors Notes: **Andnow to find out what happens to Johnny!!!

Thanks to marinawings, penny3, Lil' Kanny and ShadowWolfDagger for reviewing! XD

* * *

**Chapter Four: Blood Message **

**The Baxter Building**

"Oh God no!" Sue practically screamed when she entered the lab and saw her brother. "Johnny!"

He lay crumpled on the floor, deathly pale and weak, a growing patch of dark red blood spreading across his t-shirt. Susan immediately tried to call for help, but the comms had been affected by the EMP just like the doombots. She'd have to wait until they came back. She ran over to her brother's side and cradled his head gently in her lap.

He blinked his eyes open and saw his sister's worried face. "S-Sue?" he whispered meekly. Tears streamed down her face. He looked at her confused for a second before remembering what had happened. The burning pain came flooding back full force and he winced. Sue was panicking seeing him like this; he had to tell her he was okay. He couldn't have her worrying about him. "I-It's just a sc-sc-scratch..."

"Yeah right Mercutio," Sue tried to smile at her brother. Johnny was surprised that he got the Romeo and Juliet reference. His vision was beginning to fade again, and he let his eyes close. "No! Johnny! Stay with me, please!" Johnny instantly opened his eyes. He had to stay awake, had to bare the pain, he couldn't let her see him suffer. "It's gonna be okay...This is gonna hurt, but I need to put pressure on the wound okay?"

Johnny nodded and then groaned when Sue placed her hand on the gaping wound and pushed down. White lights popped across his vision as the pain doubled. It was getting harder and harder to keep awake, to keep breathing...to stay alive. It had been three minutes since he had set off the EMP, it would be two more before Sue could call for help. He could handle two minutes. He had to.

Sue watched him fading, her concern only matched by her helplessness. He was all the family she had left. She had practically raised him and now? Now she was gonna watch him die? _Don't think like that! _She scolded herself. He was going to be alright, she'd make sure he got better.

"S-Sue?" Her attention snapped right back to him as he struggled to talk. "H-he said t-to give you a m-message..."

"Who did Johnny? Who did this?" she asked, already fearing the answer.

"Doom," he replied, watching as his sisters face twisted into a mask of hatred. Johnny could feel himself growing weaker, he had to tell her, warn her...just in case he didn't... "H-he said 'One d-d-down, th-th-three to g-go'. H-He's gonna tr-try again, y-you're in d-danger..."

"Don't worry," Sue said with resolve. "He won't get the chance. We're gonna get him first."

Slowly Johnny started to slip away. With his voice barely above a whisper he muttered "S-Sue, I l-love you..."

"I love you too Johnny," she replied with a small smile. They rarely said that to each other. They were always too busy arguing. Once again Johnny closed his eyes, but this time, no matter how much Sue begged, he didn't wake up.

"No...no...no! Johnny! Come on! Please wake up! Please!" she yelled, tears streaming down her cheeks. Finally a click sounded over her communicator. The five minutes had passed. "Help! Somebody! Please! Johnny's been hurt, we're in the lab! He needs help now!"

* * *

**Doom Enterprises**

A malicious grin split across Doom's face beneath his metal mask. He tapped the tips of his fingers together revelling in the pain he was creating. It was true; the best way to get to a victim is to attack the heart. He watched Susan over the monitors the second they came back online. She was holding her dying, if not dead, brother crying like the weak human she was.

He switched his attention to another screen, this one showing a pile of his defeated and broken doombots. Doom felt no remorse. They had served their purpose and now they were scrap metal.

But then again, his plan hadn't gone quite how he had arranged. In all honesty he hadn't originally aimed for Johnny. When he had placed the blind girl on the roof, and the programmed doombot had knocked her off, he had expected Mr. Fantastic to be the one to rescue her. He was prepared to melt the elastic man to within an inch of his life and then have him deliver the message. But flame boy worked just as well...if not better.

The boy was weaker, more human than the others. It had been easy to render him defenceless. And now he was dead. All in all, a good day, and it was about to get better.

* * *

**The Baxter Building**

When Dr. Kayla Maiden arrived in the lab she immediately fell into her calm and collected professional mode. She carried with her a simple first aid kit, she hadn't been there long enough to set up a fully functioning OR, in all honesty, she hadn't expected to need one this early, if at all. She skidded to a halt opposite Sue, quickly assessing the situation. "I need to lay him flat, you have to let go."

Sue gave Kayla a blank look before realising what she was being asked. Reluctantly she let go of the death grip in which she held her brother. Carefully Johnny was laid out in front of the trauma surgeon. At first glance it appeared to be a simple penetrating trauma to the right upper quadrant. She couldn't tell if any vital organs had been nicked, and as the manual says 'cultivate a high index of suspicion'.

Kayla began work, hoping not to lose a patient on her first day on the job.

* * *

Reed and Ben were still on the roof when they had heard Sue's frantic shouts over their communicators. Johnny was hurt? When did that one happen? The two men made a mad dash down the roof stairs and entered into the lab. Reed was momentarily stumped by the young woman who was leaning over their teammate. He hadn't been told about their new employee yet, but he decided if she was helping he probably shouldn't say anything.

They stood there, gaping at what had happened. Johnny's pale unconscious form lay very still between the two women, a frightening amount of blood soaking his shirt. Reed ran to his wife's side, wrapping his arms around her, trying to console her mourning sobs. "Shhh Sue, he's gonna be okay..."

"How do you know? You didn't see him! He...he was so...oh my God Reed. I can't lose him!" Sue wept. She buried her face in her husband's strong chest, taking comfort in his presence.

"Do you know what happened?" asked Reed quietly, trying not to upset Sue further.

"It was Doom, he stabbed Johnny, left him to die," Sue chanced a look at her brother, relieved to see his chest rising and falling slightly. He was alive. She turned to their new doctor. "Is he gonna make it?"

Kayla smiled reassuringly. "I've stopped the bleeding. None of his vital organs seem to have been hit, thankfully. I'm gonna close him up and he'll need a transfusion, there was a lot of blood loss. If there are no more complications he should be fine in no time."

Sue nodded slowly, taking in what the woman had said. Reed hugged her closer. "See, he's gonna be fine. He'll be back to his annoying cocky self before you know it."

Ben watched the exchange from a distance. He cared for the kid despite his constant comments on Ben's appearance. Guilt built up inside of him as he thought of what he had said earlier that day. Saying that he was in the way? They had ganged up on him, made him feel useless. Ben remembered what Johnny had been like when he was switching powers with the team. He had cared what they thought of him. He didn't like being a screw up. And now the kid almost died after saving Alicia, setting off the EMP. The kid was a hero.

"Ben," Reed shook the rock from his reverie. "We're gonna take Johnny to his room, can you come over and help?"

"Sure," replied Ben. More gently than ever could be expected of such a strong person, The Thing lifted Johnny and carried the small body to his room.

* * *

**Doom Enterprises**

So the boy was still alive? No matter. Doom thought to himself. He wasn't meant to live, but some things just can't be helped. When Doom was finished with the rest of the team he would return for the Human Torch. He wouldn't escape that easily.

The Doctor was going to become a problem. Doom watched the raven haired woman set the boy up with a blood transfusion once the Thing had placed him in his bed. The two men and the doctor then left the room so that Susan could be alone with her brother. Phase One may not have been a complete success, but seeing Susan suffer was enough at this point to bring a smile to Doom's lips.

"Leonard," Doom called. Immediately the small man appeared in his grand office. "It's time to commence Phase Two."

* * *

**The Baxter Building**

**Two Hours Later**

The colour was beginning to return to Johnny's skin. He was looking better, but still not 100%. Sue stroked a stray hair from his forehead and held his hand. She had stayed diligently by his side ever since she had found him. She wasn't going to leave until she saw his blue eyes again, and even then she'd probably still stay.

Suddenly Johnny stirred, a small moan escaping his lips. Sue gripped his hand tighter, willing him to wake up. Slowly his eyes blinked blearily open, adjusting to the light in the room. He turned his head slightly to face his sister. "Hi."

Slightly taken aback, Sue took a second to reply. "Hi." She smiled, relief rushing through her. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine," Johnny insisted bravely. In all honesty he still felt like crap. His body had already burned up the pain meds the doctor had given him, so he could feel the pain of the wound clearly. He smiled anyway though, comforting his sister with one of his prize grins. "Were you worried about me?"

"I always worry about you," said Sue, tears threatening to fall again. She stroked the side of his face. "Thank you for pretty much saving us back there. We wouldn't have defeated those doombots without you."

"So I do occasionally do something right then," Johnny muttered quietly. Sue felt a pang of guilt in her chest, allowing a single tear to slide down her face.

"Johnny...I'm sorry for what I said, I...I was just a bit miffed at the time, I didn't mean it," Sue apologized. Johnny gave her a 'yeah right' look. "Okay, so I meant it a little bit. But we need you Johnny, you proved that today."

Johnny winced as a bolt of pain shot through his chest. Yeah, it felt good to be needed. He smiled at his sister and wiggled his eyebrows. "Can you call the hot doctor back in?"

Sue rolled her eyes and gave his hand a squeeze. "You never change do you?"

"Hell no," he retorted. "You know you wouldn't have me any other way."

* * *

**Doom Enterprises**

"Welcome to my lair, Miss Masters," greeted Doom. The young blind woman was thrusted forward by Leonard so that his master could see their captive better. "I hope you enjoy your stay."

* * *

Ooooh! Cliff-hanger! ;)

Sorry this chap is slightly shorter than the others, It was mainly just to explain what happened to Johnny and set up the next chapter...I will try and update quickly!

Please review! They make me happy :D


	5. Phase Two

**Fantastic Four (Movieverse) – Retribution**

**Summary:** Doom seeks revenge on the Fantastic Four for defeating him twice. Are the foursome ready for such a personal attack? Johnnycentric :D

**Disclaimer: **Nope, no ownership here

**Authors Notes: **So Johnny's alive, Alicia's been kidnapped and Doom is continuing his revenge...And I took forever to update :S Hope this chapter makes up for it...

Thanks to marinawings, shadowwolfdagger, kitty, thunderincrimson and penny3 for reviewing, it makes me happy :D

* * *

**Chapter Five: Phase Two**

**One Hour Earlier**

**The Baxter Building**

It had been about an hour since Alicia had found herself on the roof of the Baxter Building in the middle of a full scale battle. She had no idea how she had gotten up there. One minute she was in her room the floor below, worrying about what was happening above, the next minute she was teetering over the edge. She had been completely disorientated, unable to see and unsure of her surroundings. All she could hear was the mechanical footsteps thundering around her and the sound of the superheroes fighting back. And then BAM! That stupid robot had shoved her over the edge.

She rubbed her arm unconsciously, feeling the bruise forming. And then she had been falling. For a moment it had been rather fun. She had felt so free, the wind rushing past her, as if she was floating. But then she had heard Ben shouting in fear, and immediately she realised that eventually she would stop falling. She'd hit the pavement with a sickening crunch, and that would be the end.

That's when she started screaming. There was no point, but she was so scared it was the only thing she thought to do. She tried to slow her descent, flailing her arms uselessly. Then she felt an intense heat zoom right past her. _Johnny? But why did he go past? He's gonna let me fall? _Alicia was sure that she was gonna die right then.

Suddenly she had jolted to a painful stop. Johnny had caught her. Damn near pulled her arm right out of socket, but at least she wasn't falling. Once her saviour had gotten her inside and relatively out of danger, she had massaged her dislocated shoulder as she tried to ascertain where she was. And then he had yelled out, panic evident in his voice. "_Get down! Stay away from the windows!"_ And then he was gone. Even now she had no idea what had happened. Something bad, she knew that. Sue's voice over the intercom told her that much.

The Doc, Kayla had been popping her arm back in place for her before the call. That was the last time anyone had spoken to her. They had just disappeared; something very bad had happened. She had found her way back up to her room about half an hour ago. Now she sat waiting on the bed she shared with Ben, wondering what the hell had happened.

Someone was coming. It was someone heavy. Ben? No, no it was more than one heavy person, and there was also lighter, quick footsteps. She could hear them approaching her door. The heavy footsteps didn't belong to humans, she recognised them now. Rhythmic, metallic, robotic.

Why hadn't the security system picked them up? What was going on? The door made a loud crashing sound as it was ripped from its hinges and thrown across the room. Alicia jumped to her feet, backing away as quickly as she could from the invaders. But she was backing into a corner she couldn't see. There was no other exit other than the tattered doorframe the doombots guarded.

She heard the lighter footsteps of the other person approach her. She flinched away from his touch as he went to grab her arm. She wasn't a damsel in distress. She was going to make this as difficult for them as possible. She crouched down, feeling around her for some sort of weapon. The man reached for again, just as her hand wrapped around a heavy ornamental clay model she had made. She recognised her work instantly. She waited, judging where the man's head was, waiting for him to speak so that she could smack him.

"Miss Mast-" CRACK. She had hit him upside the head and he slumped to the floor in a heap. She quickly stood up, almost forgetting the mechanical guard dogs. She heard them whiz to attention and the unmistakable sound of many weapons cocking. But they didn't fire. They were just threatening her. They wanted her alive?

Unsure what to do now she ran straight forward to where she was sure the door was located. Instantly a metallic claw stopped her escape. It grabbed her recently dislocated and bruised arm in a vicelike grip. She struggled to free herself, but the claws wouldn't budge. She felt one of the weapons being pressed against her forehead and she immediately stopped struggling.

"Miss Masters," the man finished as he dragged himself to his feet behind her. She heard him come up and stand by her side. His words slurred ever so slightly and pain lined every syllable. She could even pick up on a hint of nervousness in his voice. "My master would like to see you. If you wouldn't mind co-operating now."

Alicia had to stall. Someone had to have heard all the noise they had made. These people weren't exactly 'stealth'. Someone would show up and rescue her, but only if she was still here. "Wait! Wait...who-who is your master?"

She could hear the smile that lit up the man's face. But she could also hear the nervousness more acutely now than before. He was afraid of his master, and yet served him dutifully. "Dr Doom."

She heard the faint fluttering of a piece of paper being dropped. He was leaving a note? What kind of kidnapping was this? She didn't have time to contemplate before she felt the uncomfortable prick of a needle being inserted in her arm. She felt herself go heavy, her final conscious thoughts of Ben Grimm. He would save her. He had to.

* * *

**The Baxter Building**

**Present**

"I really need to pee now," Sue smiled at her brother her who gave her an 'ick' face. She hadn't left his side for almost three hours now. He had woken up half hour ago, still pale but alive and coherent. It was an improvement. She stood from her seat beside his bed. "I'll be back in five minutes. Don't move or do anything stupid."

Johnny rolled his eyes. "Where am I gonna go exactly?"

Sue didn't answer but gave him a knowing, stern look before she disappeared through the door. Johnny felt an abrupt cold that made him shiver and knew his doctor was coming. He wasn't disappointed. She appeared in his doorway; clad in knee high boots over a pair of tight dark jeans and a smart polo neck black top. She nailed smart-casual easily. Johnny gave her a flirtatious grin. "Hey there Doc."

"Hey yourself," she stepped up to his bed and adjusted some of the equipment he was hooked up to. "How are you feeling?"

"Much better now," was Johnny's cocky reply. Kayla raised her eyebrows with a face that said 'this is a professional relationship', but her blue eyes loved his attention. She saw him watching her out of the corner of eye as she busied herself with running the usual checks. "So, what time do you get off?"

"Erm...I don't know actually," Kayla gave a short laugh. Things had just happened so quickly that a lot of details had been skipped over. She'd have to talk to Sue when she got back; she seemed to be the person in charge of making decisions, despite Reed being the leader. "I guess I'll be here as long as I'm needed."

Sue came back into the room, a look of relief on her face when she saw Johnny was exactly where she left him. This event had bought out her over-protective side. She reclaimed her seat next to Johnny's bed. "Everything okay?"

"Better, considering only three hours ago he was close to the edge. I looked over the files Reed gave me, it seems you guys have a much faster healing rate. He should be up and around in about a day if things keep going like this. It's amazing really." Kayla explained, her mind already thinking of the many medical possibilities.

"I know." Johnny said simply, a smile on his face. Of course he thought he was amazing; both women in the room rolled their eyes. Then a thought occurred to Johnny. "Has anyone seen Alicia? I haven't seen her since the roof."

"She's probably with Ben," replied Sue.

* * *

**Doom Enterprises**

But she wasn't. She was a prisoner. She couldn't tell exactly where she was, but it was cold and smelt funny. _Like a newly refurbished building...It had new furniture smell_, she decided. She had no idea how she had gotten there, she had only just woken up from the drug dosage. She was still being held by the doombots, and she could hear the footsteps of the man that she had hit leading ahead of her.

She heard a door open ahead of where she was being marched. The footsteps of the bots and the man's shoes changed from soft thuds on carpet to loud metallic clinking. She heard the whirring of a machine turning. She could just imagine Doom spinning slowly in his chair to face her, a white cat in his lap. She couldn't smell animal fur so assumed there wasn't actually a cat, but the image was funny all the same. It was better than what was actually there anyway.

"Welcome to my lair, Miss Masters," greeted Doom, the evil intent echoing in his voice. The man shoved her forward, obviously towards Doom. She could feel his eyes studying her. "I hope you enjoy your stay."

"You won't get away with this!" cried Alicia, disappointed to hear the fear in her own voice. "Ben is gonna find out where I am and then he's gonna kick your ass!"

"Oh, I'm counting on it," replied Doom slyly. Alicia instantly finally realised what was happening. She cursed herself for not figuring it out earlier. But then again she was recovering from a terrifying drop and had just been kidnapped, so it was kinda understandable. She was bait. "Leonard, show Miss Masters to her accommodation."

Alicia was roughly manhandled by the large doombots and dragged painfully away.

* * *

**The Baxter Building**

Ben's mind was a whirlwind of thoughts and emotions. It had been a hell of a day. Moleman and a mud volcano in the morning, a burning apartment building just after lunch and full blown robot invasion for dinner. It was a lot more than he was used to; usually they had one, possibly two rescues a day. He was starting to feel the effects.

It was coming up to 10:30pm now. The kid was still out as far as he knew; he had avoided seeing him for some reason. He had hung out with Reed in his lab, helping where he could. He hadn't seen Alicia either. But he was going to now. He lumbered through the halls of their huge part of the Baxter Building, heading towards the room he shared with Alicia.

It had been a long day, but when Ben saw the state of the door to their room, he knew it was about to get longer. "Alicia?" asked Ben to the empty room as he climbed through the broken door frame. The missing door was halfway across the room. There was black scarring on the floor that looked semi-foot shaped. He stepped further into the room. One of Alicia's clay statues lay in smithereens on the floor. "Alicia? What happened?"

The room didn't reply. All Ben knew was that his girlfriend was gone. Until he saw something on the floor. A piece of paper? He knelt down next to the note and struggled to pick it up with his oversized fingers. Eventually he grasped the note, while uttering a few choice curse words. He opened the note and read the neat handwriting.

Ben growled, a deep guttural sound erupting from his throat as he screwed the piece of paper into a ball in anger. Alicia had been taken, and now he knew who by and where she was. With hatred thick in his voice, Ben made a promise to the deserted room.

"I'm gonna find you Alicia. And then I'm gonna tear that bastard limb from limb."

* * *

Now Sue was starting to worry. It was 11pm and Johnny had just slipped back to sleep. But that wasn't what was worrying her. She hadn't heard from Ben or Alicia for a very long time. It shouldn't bother her, the couple were allowed to spend time together away from the team, but something just felt wrong.

Trusting her intuition, Sue left Johnny, silently praying that he would just stay put. She closed the door to his room and headed towards Reed's lab. Maybe they could track Ben's phone so that Sue could relax knowing that they were just off having a nice romantic dinner somewhere. But just as she approached, Reed exited the lab, almost bumping right into her. "Sue?"

"Something's not right," Sue stated, staring Reed right in the eye as she said it. She was certain now. Reed slowly nodded, although confusion lined his face. "I haven't seen Ben or Alicia since the attack on the roof."

"Well, Ben was in the lab with me until about half an hour ago," replied Reed soothingly. "What do you think has happened?"

"I don't know Reed," Sue sighed, trying to get rid of the feeling. "But I just know that something is wrong. Can we just find them or something? Just so that I know they're okay."

They didn't get that far. Suddenly the Baxter Building's intercom burst into life. Then came the unforgettable voice of Victor Von Doom, a smile evident in his tone.

"_Two down. Two to go."_

_

* * *

_

I haven't had a very good day today, I hope it hasn't reflected in my writing...And since my PC won't play the game I bought (Sims 3!) I should have plenty of time to write the next chapter where we get back into the action XD

I do love reviews...


	6. Dynamic Duo

**Fantastic Four (Movieverse) – Retribution**

**Summary:** Doom seeks revenge on the Fantastic Four for defeating him twice. Are the foursome ready for such a personal attack? Johnnycentric :D

**Disclaimer: **Nope, no ownership here

**Authors Notes: **Last chapter I may have taken some liberties as to the healing powers of the Fan4, but I didn't want Johnny to be sick for too long... :D

Thanks very much to ShadowWolfDagger, Penny3, marinawings and asms2 for reviewing!

Enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter Six: Dynamic Duo**

**Doom Enterprises**

It was a trap. Well, of course it was a trap. Hell! They had given him the bloody location! Ben Grimm lived up to his name with a grim expression on his face. He growled low in his throat. How could he have been so stupid? Running off straight to Doom. Getting himself as well and truly stuck as he was.

He was in a box. A very, _very_ small box. And he was upside down. He couldn't quite remember how he had gotten in the box, but he was sure Doom was responsible. Ben's large form was cramped in the 5x5x5ft cube, his ankles and hands shackled uncomfortable to the ceiling. It was strong enough to take his weight, and no matter how much he struggled, it still held against his strength as well.

Things were not looking good. But at least he had seen Alicia before everything had gone wrong. He had managed to get all the way up through the building and into her cell without detection. As far as he knew. They were probably waiting and watching the whole time for him to fall completely for the blatant trap. He hadn't even seen what had hit him with enough force to render the rock man unconscious.

And now he was pretty sure he was playing bait for the rest of the team. Reed and Sue were gonna show up any minute, they may even be there already, and then Doom's gonna hang them up as well. Then who'd help them? Johnny? The kid wasn't even conscious the last time Ben had seen him. In fact the Matchstick had looked pretty much dead.

This was turning out to be a fantastic day.

* * *

**The Baxter Building**

"_Two down. Two to go."_

There was an ominous click over the intercom as the communication was cut off. Sue immediately turned to Reed with worried eyes. The feeling of not-rightness intensified as the source was revealed. Something had happened to Ben.

The couple ran the length of the hallway, taking a couple of turnings until they reached the empty doorframe to Ben and Alicia's room. Something had happened to Alicia.

"What the hell happened Reed?" asked Sue, astounded. She glanced around, noting the many security measures the superheroes had in place. "_How_ the hell did it happen?"

Reed was just as dumbstruck as Sue. It was a rare thing to see the genius so stumped. But then slowly things began clicking into place. "Doom just spoke over our closed circuit intercom system. He must have hacked the mainframe...somehow. He must have shut down our security measures. Anyone could have waltzed in and it wouldn't have shown up on the system."

For some reason, Reed's answer wasn't comforting. "We have to find them Reed. If what happened to Johnny is anything to go by..." Sue let the sentence hang. "We need to act fast. As in Now."

Reed immediately agreed with his wife. She was right, but even if she had been wrong, he wouldn't have argued for fear of losing a limb. She had a grim determination in her eyes, a mixture of hatred and worry and exhaustion. This day had been hell for the team, but Sue seemed to be taking it the hardest. "In my lab, I've got a tracer. If he's got his phone or his communicator we should find him in no time."

The two ran back to the lab. When they entered the cavern of high tech equipment Reed sprinted to one of his many gadgets. It looked like an ancient computer, and Sue was pretty sure it was made out of one, but if it worked, she didn't care what it was. He began tapping incredibly quickly on the keyboard, his fingers splitting and stretching. A series of numbers filed down the screen.

"I've got him. He still had his phone on him," smiled Reed. But then he realised the location of Ben. He turned to Sue, his expression telling her everything she needed to know. "He's at Doom's old office."

"But I thought when his company went bust he lost all that," wondered Sue confused.

"Well, apparently he didn't lose everything." Reed pulled out his PDA and downloaded any additional information he though they may need. He turned to his wife, a pleading look in his eyes. "Now, I know you want to run in there and save them, I do to. But we have to think before we act. The last thing we want to happen is for us to get caught as well. This is most likely a trap, you know that right?"

"I know, but if it gets us closer to freeing Ben and Alicia I don't care," Sue retorted. At Reed's exasperated expression she conceded. "But we will be careful. Planning is good."

It was times like these that Sue reminded Reed of her younger brother. She was usually so careful, but when it came to family she would do anything, regardless of consequences. "Let's get to the Fantasticar and go and bring them home."

The couple headed back out of the lab, but were stopped by Dr. Maiden. She looked concerned. "What's going on?" she asked them before they could leave. "I heard the intercom, what does the maniac mean?"

It occurred to Reed that they still hadn't been introduced. "Who are you?"

"Dr. Kayla Maiden," the woman replied, a small smile on her lips. It had been one helluva hectic day.

"I employed her, she's our medic," filled in Sue. She then spoke directly to Kayla. "The maniac is Dr. Doom, the one responsible for Johnny's injury. He kidnapped Alicia and as far we can tell Ben found out and went off to find her, by himself. Now Doom has both of them."

"Can I help?" the Doctor stepped forward, offering her services.

"Not with this, what I need you to do is keep a very close eye on Johnny and don't let him know anything that's going on," instructed Sue. Kayla nodded, accepting the challenge. She then stepped aside and allowed the superhero couple to run off to save the day. Or at least their comrades.

* * *

**Doom Enterprises**

Things were going so well. Flame Boy was down, the blind girl had successfully baited the bodyguard and the rest of the team were on their way now. It wouldn't be long before Doom could finish his revenge. Soon she would be within his grasp.

She had betrayed him. He hated the whole team of do-gooders, but Susan? She was the worst of the lot. He had been willing to spend the rest of his life with her, look after her like no other man could. He would have given her the world. But no. She threw it all away, threw him away, for that...that...'genius'!

Doom slammed his hand down on his desk making a huge dent. _Damn, I'll have to get a new one._ He thought to himself. He calmed himself down, focusing on the task at hand. A bleeping sound came from one of his computers. The scanner had picked up the fantasticar.

The Dynamic Duo would soon arrive. But they'll never leave.

* * *

**The Baxter Building**

Kayla watched the Fantasticar whiz off into the distance through the window. The superheroes would be back soon, she tried to convince herself. But deep down she knew that things were not going to go as planned. Pushing those thoughts away she spun on her heels and headed towards her patient's room.

She paused outside the door, took a deep breath and pasted a relatively convincing smile on her face. Nothing was happening. Nothing had gone wrong. No one was in danger. Satisfied with her mantra, Kayla pushed open the door. "Good evening Johnny."

"I think it's a bit beyond evening now," he retorted. It was gone 11pm and through the windows the night sky was visible. Johnny smiled at his doctor as she walked into the room and started checking everything. He was already well on the way to recovery. He was sitting up in bed, although leaning against a wall of pillows, and his skin colour was almost completely back to normal. He watched Kayla carefully, picking up on a few nervous ticks. "Is something wrong?"

"What?" Kayla asked surprised. She had been so sure that her guise was fool proof. The speed of her answer had already confirmed his suspicions though and she mentally kicked herself. "No, of course nothing's wrong..."

"You're eye twitches when you're lying," Johnny said simply. He surprised himself at how well he could read Kayla. They seemed to have a natural connection, it was something he couldn't explain. "What's happened?"

The ordinarily calm doctor tried to regain her composure. She was usually quite good at lying, but the young man just seemed to be able to see right through her. She attempted to continue lying anyway. "I told you, nothing's wrong."

Johnny raised his eyebrows in disbelief. "Just tell me."

Kayla sighed in surrender. She had one job to do and in about five minutes she had already cocked it up. "Look, you gotta promise me you won't do anything. You are to stay right where you are."

"Fine," agreed Johnny. Kayla gestured that he need to promise. "Okay, I promise."

"Good, I'm holding you to that," replied the doctor. "Earlier tonight, Alicia was taken. It looks like Ben found out and went after her, and well, now he's missing too."

"Who?" asked Johnny, although he already knew the answer.

"Doom." Johnny felt a pulse of pain and fear at the mention of his attacker's name. The second Doom had given him the message Johnny had known that he was going to strike again. He stared at Kayla, knowing there was more. "Well, then err...then Reed and Sue received a message over the intercom. 'Two down, two to go'. They...they went after Doom to find Ben and Alicia."

"What?" Johnny immediately stood up, forgetting his injuries. Kayla placed her hands on his shoulders to try and calm him down. "Sue and Reed? Alone? We've never taken down Doom without all four of us...I've gotta go help..."

"No." Kayla stopped him, pushing him back down on the bed. "You promised you would stay, and you _will_ stay."

"But, Sue...my sister is in trouble and you expect me to just lie here?" demanded Johnny. He tried to stand back up and storm out but Kayla pushed him back down again. "You can't stop me. I'm going, right now."

Kayla blocked his path again and grabbed a needle from her supplies. She pointed it at Johnny threateningly. "I will sedate you."

* * *

**Doom Enterprises**

The couple climbed out of the Fantasticar just outside of the huge building. The larger than life statue of Victor Von Doom still stood as a centre piece in front of the entrance. Sue turned to her husband incredulously. "Are we honestly just going to go through the front door?"

"Doom probably already knows we're coming, he may even know that we are here. There's no point sneaking in," explained Reed. Sue nodded, understanding his logic. She turned them invisible none the less. Doom may know that they're here, but that doesn't mean they shouldn't be stealth.

They headed towards the front door, and found it unlocked. The two superheroes shared a glance. It was so obviously a trap, but what choice did they have? They entered the building, constantly checking to see if they had been spotted, or if they were about to be attacked.

Suddenly a bolt of blue lightening shot across the room. Despite their invisibility, the shot hit its target. Reed cried out in pain as the electricity sliced into his chest and coursed through his body, throwing him across the room.

"REED!" screamed Sue, forgetting their need for stealth. She became visible and ran over to him. But before she got there a large piece of concrete dropped from nowhere and blocked her path. Another wall appeared, then another, then another, trapping Reed in a box.

She felt Doom's presence before she saw him. Slowly she turned around and there he stood in all his cloaked glory. He spread his arms as if to welcome Sue.

"Three down..._One_ to go..."

* * *

XD And that's where I leave you hanging folks!


	7. Final Countdown

**Fantastic Four (Movieverse) – Retribution**

**Summary:** Doom seeks revenge on the Fantastic Four for defeating him twice. Are the foursome ready for such a personal attack? Johnnycentric :D

**Disclaimer: **Nope, no ownership here

**Authors Notes:** Woohoo! Super-quick update :D This is like the finale, I hope you like!!!

Thanks to marinawings, asms2 and Lil' Kanny for reviewing!

Enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter Seven: Final Countdown**

**Doom Enterprises**

The entrance hall to the building was vast. The floor was marble and great stone pillars ran the height of the room. A semi-circle welcome desk was situated directly in front of the door and two grand staircases sat on either side. A balcony lined the edge of the floor above, the perfect vantage point on which Doom stood. He glared down at Susan Richards with unmasked hatred.

"Three down..._One_ to go..."

Doom effortlessly flung a shimmering bolt of electricity directly at Sue, knowing that she would block it with one of her force fields. He was just playing with her at this point. He gestured with his other hand and suddenly the box in which Reed was trapped was lifted up, disappearing higher into the building.

"Where are you taking him?" demanded Sue angrily. She watched Doom carefully, prepared to block any attack and calculating her retaliation.

Doom smiled behind his metal mask. "Why, he's going up to meet Ben and Miss Masters. That is why you come here, no? To find your teammates?" replied Doom teasingly. Sue just glared at him. "Well...I guess you found them. Now you can join them."

Another bolt flew across the room. Again it was deflected. But this time Sue followed up and projected a powerful wave of energy at her adversary. It hit Doom square in the chest and threw him back against the wall behind him. He pulled himself out of the man-shaped hole and stepped back up to his perch, placing his hands on the balustrade. "Now Susan, that's more like it!"

Sue created another force field and pitched it at Doom. This time he dodged and striked back in quick succession, hitting Sue in the shoulder. She was thrown back a few feet, landing in a heap on the floor. She recovered quickly and climbed back onto her feet, but when she turned back to fire at Doom he had gone.

A loud thump landed behind her. She spun around to see Doom landing as smoothly as a feline. He lit up both of his hands with blue light and streamed it towards her, battling against the powerful force field ahe had instinctively created. They stood at a stalemate; each one waiting for the other to break.

Sue weakened first. The exertion caused her nose to bleed and she knew she wouldn't be able to hold him off much longer. He kept going, pushing her backwards with the force of his attack. Eventually Sue let the shield drop, but the electricity kept coming, hitting her and throwing her through the air. She landed hard on the marble floor, barely able to keep her eyes open from exhaustion.

Satisfied, Doom took a few steps towards her. He smiled gleefully at the prospect at finally destroying the bane of his existence. "I'm going to enjoy this!" he declared as he let loose another stream of blue light.

"SUE!" shouted the Human Torch as he flew through the open doors of the building, engulfed in flame. Everything seemed to slow down. Just as Johnny entered Doom fired his electricity at Susan. She watched powerlessly as her brother intercepted the hit. As the bolt collided with him, Johnny's flames instantly flickered out of life. He was thrown at an angle hard against the wall and fell to the floor unmoving.

"Johnny!" screamed Sue. He had saved her; he had taken the blow that was meant for her. But now he wasn't moving. Anger and rage boiled through Sue as she gathered herself to her feet. She glared at Doom, a murderous glint in her eyes. "You are going to pay for that."

"Really?" replied Doom cockily. He was pissed that the boy had gotten in the way of his revenge, but watching Susan suffer was always enjoyable. And maybe this fight would turn out to be fun...

A renewed burst of energy filled Sue, fuelled by her thirst for revenge. Doom had done enough for one day. He had stabbed her brother, kidnapped her friend and used her for bait, trapped Ben and attacked Reed. And she was pretty sure he had just killed Johnny. It was time to end it. It was time to end _him_.

Her exhaustion forgotten, Sue tapped into a reserve of power she never knew she had. She encased Doom in a bubble-like force field while simultaneously creating a disk beneath her feet. As Doom tried to struggle free, blasting at the walls of his cage, the Invisible Woman lifted them into the air. They passed through the upper floors until they hovered far above the roof. Sue levitated Doom over the edge, a horrendous drop between him and the ground.

"You wouldn't," Doom goaded, trying to hide his fear. "It would be very un-heroic of you."

"What? Ridding the world of a selfish villain? I think I'd be doing everyone a favour." Sue retorted viciously. She stared into the eyes of the man who had striven to ruin her life, and smiled. It was an evil, contorted smile, sealing his fate.

"There's hope for you yet." Doom stated as he admired his captor. Without another word the force-field around him disappeared. He fell fast, his metallic structure making him heavy. Sue watched satisfactorily until she heard the crunching sound of Doom's body meeting the concrete.

Sue took a deep breath to try and calm herself down. The anger and rage gave way to upset and concern as she remembered Johnny. She quickly returned to the entrance hall of the building, hopping from her disk and running to his side.

Johnny was dressed in his civilian clothes, the white t-shirt beneath his jack scorched by Doom's electricity. A small amount of blood seeped through from his knife wound. But he was breathing. Sue stroked his hair and took his hand, tears dripping down her face in relief. "Johnny?"

He blinked open his eyes and looked up at his sister. "Did you kick his ass?"

"Oh yeah, I definitely kicked his ass," replied Sue, deciding to not give him the details. Her concern quickly dissolved into irritation. "Now what the hell are you doing here?"

"Other than saving you?" retorted Johnny. Sue didn't look impressed. "I heard what happened; decided I should come and help."

"And now you've gone and torn you're stitches and have probably got a concussion," scolded Sue. She glanced up to where she had seen Reed's cube disappear. "I'm gonna go find the others. Do Not Move."

"And where am I gonna go?" he asked sarcastically as Susan floated away on one of her force fields. He lay on his back in the rubble he had made when he had hit the wall and stared up at the ceiling. He was hurting, badly. His head felt like it had been split in two and he was struggling to breath because of the hit to the chest, but he was pretty sure he had caused Sue enough worry for one day and so he had stayed quiet.

As he waited patiently for his sister to return, a figure appeared at the entrance to the building. Johnny tried to raise his head to see, but instantly bright colours popped across his vision. Then the figure headed directly towards him, limping. Johnny recognised him instantly. Doom.

He was incredibly disfigured, most of his joints connected at funny angles and a terrible dent in his mask, but somehow he was walking. Towards Johnny. The broken man crouched down next to him with a sickening crack as a joint either popped in or out of place. Unable to move, Johnny lay helpless.

"Fancy seeing you here," greeted Doom sarcastically, hatred in his voice. Johnny wondered what on earth Sue had done to deform Doom like that, and then decided he didn't want to know. "Now you, you have been a bit of a troublemaker tonight. I've waited a long time to see Susan dead, and I was so close. But you got in the way. This has caused me a great discomfort; as you can see."

Doom leaned down further, so that he was merely a ft away from Johnny. He talked quietly, deceptively calm, the threat clear in his voice. "And as such, you will pay. I will make it my goal in life to make sure you suffer every bit as much as I have. Enjoy the time you've got left, there's not much of it."

Johnny watched Doom limp away, fear evident in his face. Thankfully Susan returned with the rest of the team in tow just as Doom dissapeared from sight. Concern lined her voice when Sue saw her brother's expression. "What's up Johnny? You look like you've just seen a ghost."

He looked up at his sister, feeling the need to protect her. He smiled despite his inner conflict and retorted "I did just take a hit for you sis, what am I supposed to look like?"

Seemingly convinced, Sue helped her brother to his feet. The team, no, the family, then left Doom Enterprises, unaware of the threat that stalked them.

* * *

XD That's pretty much the end, but I'm gonna tie things off with an epilogue coming up soon!

Please review!!!


	8. A Hard Days Night

**Fantastic Four (Movieverse) – Retribution**

**Summary:** Doom seeks revenge on the Fantastic Four for defeating him twice. Are the foursome ready for such a personal attack? Johnnycentric :D

**Disclaimer: **Nope, no ownership here

* * *

**Epilogue: Long Days Night**

**The Baxter Building**

Without the larger than life personalities of the superheroes the Baxter building was very empty. Dr. Kayla Maiden felt out of place as she walked down the halls, her high heels tapping on the floor and echoing loudly. It was her first day, she hadn't had time to get used to the place and when she was alone like this, she kind of felt like an intruder. Like she wasn't meant to be there.

It had been over an hour since she had accidently told Johnny what was happening, and precisely 48 minutes since she realised he had gone missing. The young man was an adept sneak, letting her believe that he'd actually stay put while she went and checked to see if the team had come back. When she returned to the room, _poof_, he had disappeared. She knew when Sue got back she was gonna get an earful. For a terrifying moment she thought she might lose the job; _but she wouldn't...would she?_

For about the fifth time in the last thirty minutes she walked up to the large window that looked out over the city. It faced the direction that the fantasticar had disappeared, and so Kayla stood and watched and waited.

Suddenly, a small flying blip appeared on the skyline. Kayla recognised it instantly as the fantasticar. But there was no fireball following the craft. _Johnny's not flying?_ She thought, panicking. She knew he had flown out of here, but he wasn't flying back. Something's not right. Kayla quickly ran down to the hangar where she knew the fantasticar would land and waited for the craft to arrive.

Finally the craft came in to land and hovered to a stop, followed quickly by Sue who levitated in on a force field. There were only four seats in the fantasticar, and each one was occupied. Reed was in the front, controlling the craft and Ben sat in the back in his specially designed seat. The middle was taken by a relieved looking Alicia and slightly pale Johnny. At least everyone was alive.

When Sue landed, her force field flickering from life, her expression told Kayla that she wasn't mad. But the doctor apologised anyway. "I'm sorry about letting Johnny out, I swear, I turned my back for a second..."

"Relax, I know what he's like," reassured Sue, giving Johnny a stern glance. "He's run away from me once or twice."

"I'm not a grounded teenager you know," retorted Johnny as he managed to climb out of the fantasticar. "I don't need babysitting."

Ben laughed gruffly as he helped Alicia out of the craft, his strong hands practically lifting her and gently setting her on the ground. "You could have fooled me kid. You look like you need some looking after."

Johnny just grinned broadly and pointed at Kayla. "Only if she's doing it."

* * *

**Two Days Later**

Things had pretty much returned to normal after that day. Reed still hung out in his lab, Sue organised everything, Johnny was back on his feet and being well...being Johnny. Kayla had taken up full-time residence in the Baxter Building striking up a friendship with Alicia. And Ben? Well Ben was feeling nervous; he'd been acting all secretive for the past two days.

The couple sat together in a quiet corner of Bernie's bar (**A/N: The bar from the first film where Ben met Alicia**) one of the only places they had found where they weren't chased by paparazzi. Alicia, as always, looked beautiful sitting opposite Ben, and once again he felt his stomach flip flop. He patted his pocket just to make sure he hadn't forgotten it.

"Ben? What's up? You've been acting weird these last few days..." probed Alicia. She took a sip from her drink, analysing Ben's behaviour.

"Err...n-nothing's wrong, I-I just...I j-just..." Ben tried to say but his nerves made him stutter in a way he never had before. This woman could melt right through his rocky exterior, seeing what no one else could. And that's why he loved her so much. Alicia waited expectantly for him to finish his explanation, and he decided now was a good time. He took a deep breath and pulled the small box from his pocket. He took Alicia's hand and guided her to feel it so that she could see.

He slid from his chair and knelt next to her. A smile lit up Alicia's face, filling Ben with confidence. "Alicia Masters, you are the most amazing person I have ever met. You made my life worth living when I couldn't, and for that I owe you my life. Will you do me the honour of making me the happiest man in the world? Will you marry me?"

Alicia smiled widely, a giddy laugh escaping her lips as she quivered with excitement. Ben opened the box and took the small shiny ring out. Alicia offered him her hand and gently placed her other hand on his rough cheek. "Yes, yes! Of course I will!"

Ben gently slid the ring onto her finger, his ecstatic expression matching his fiancé's. He gently hugged her, placing a kiss on her cheek. She found his lips and passionately kissed him. The small bar burst into applause, making the couple giggle with embarrassment.

From behind the bar, Bernie threw up his hands and announced "Congrats! Everyone! A round on the house to celebrate!" Another cheer erupted from the happy punters as drinks were passed round.

* * *

**Doom Enterprises**

A team of Doctors had managed to set Doom almost back to rights. He still limped on his left leg due to the fact it hadn't set straight, and his right arm sat crooked. Doom despised his reflection as he looked in the full length mirror before him. The surfer had healed the burns he had suffered from the supernova all those years ago, but now new scars marred his skin.

He hobbled over to his desk and opened the new package. It was from Latveria, as was his previous mask. He pulled out the metal masterpiece, gently placing it over his face. He turned back round to the mirror, glad to see that none of his scars were visible. Using the desk for support he walked behind his desk and sat in his chair.

He had suffered a defeat. A painful defeat. But those responsible wouldn't get away with it. He would see to it that he would get his revenge. Johnny Storm and Susan Richards would pay.

* * *

XD I finally finished!!!

Thanks to everyone who has reviewed; Amber, ShadowWolfDagger, Lil Kanny, marinawings and penny3...and to anyone else who reviews thanks in advance! :D

I have every intention of doing a sequel; I just have to come up with a plot...

Hope you liked ;)


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